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Death  of  Waxe-"hadjo 


THE  ..'.        i 


EXILES  OF  FLOEIDA: 


OR, 


THE  CRIMES   COMMITTED  BY  OUR  GOVERNMENT  AGAINST  THE  MAROONS, 
WHO  FLED  FROM  SOUTH  CAROLINA  AND  OTHER  SLAVE  STATES, 
*        SEEKING  PROTECTION  TINDER  SPANISH  LAWS. 


BYn 
JOSHUA    R^aiDDINGsj7^5'-  1 


// 


{^(.H 


"  I,  88  commander  of  the  army,  pledged  the  national  feith  that  they 
should  remain  under  the  protection  of  the  United  States." 

Gkneral  Jkssup. 


/ 


COLUMBUS,   OHIO: 

PUBLISHED  BY  FOLLBTT,  FOSTER  AND  COMPANY. 
1858. 


9 


E^ 


■3 


V     .^17 


Qtfo 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858, 

BY  FOLLETT,  FOSTER  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk'S  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Southern  District 

of  Ohio. 


^  OlltpO' 


TO 

MY      CONSTITUENTS, 

THE     PEOPLE     WHO     HAVE     SO     LONG     HONORED     ME 

WITH     THEIR     CONFIDENCE, 

THIS   WORK   IS    RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED. 

J.  R.  GIDDINGS. 


VI,  INTKODUCTION. 

This  war  was  followed  by  diplomatic  efiforts.  Florida 
was  purchased ;  treaties  with  the  Florida  Indians  were  made 
and  violated ;  gross  frauds  were  perpetrated ;  dishonorable 
expedients  were  resorted  to,  and  another  war  provoked. 
During  its  protracted  continuance  of  seven  years,  bribery 
and  treachery  were  practiced  towards  the  Exiles  and  their 
allies,  the  Seminole  Indians ;  flags  of  truce  were  violated ; 
the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation  was  disregarded.  By  these 
means  the  removal  of  the  Exiles  from  Florida  was  effected. 
After  they  had  settled  in  the  Western  Country,  most  of 
these  iniquities  were  repeated,  until  they  were  driven  from 
our  nation  and  compelled  to  seek  an  asylum  in  Mexico. 

Men  who  wielded  the  influence  of  Government  for  the 
consummation  of  these  crimes,  assiduously  labored  to  sup- 
press all  knowledge  of  their  guilt;  to  keep  facts  from  the 
popular  mind ;  to  falsify  the  history  of  current  events,  and 
prevent  an  exposure  of  our  national  turpitude. 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  meet  that  state  of  circum- 
stances; to  expose  fraud,  falsehood,  treachery,  and  other 
crimes  of  public  men,  who  have  prostituted  the  powers  of 
Government  to  the  perpetration  of  murders,  at  the  contem- 
plation of  which  our  humanity  revolts. 

The  Author  has  designed  to  place  before  the  public  a 
faithful  record  of  events  appropriately  falling  within  the 
purview  of  the  proposed  history;  he  has  endeavored,  as  far 
as  possible,  to  do  justice  to  all  concerned.  Where  the  action 
of  individuals  is  concerned,  he  has  endeavored  to  make  them 
speak  for  themselves,  through  official  reports,  orders,  letters, 
or  written  evidences  from  their  own  hands ;  and  he  flatters 
himself  that  he  has  done  no  injustice  to  any  person.  • 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Introduction v 

CHAPTER    I. 

Circumstances  attending  the  Early  History  of  Slavery  in  the  Colo- 
nies.   Exiles :  efforts  to  restore  them , 1 

CHAPTER    II. 

Further  efforts  to  restore  Exiles 16 

CHAPTER    III. 

Hostilities  maintained  by  Georgia  ;  First  Seminole  War  commenced    28 

CHAPTER    IV. 

General  Hostilities 46 

CHAPTER    V. 

Further  efforts  of  the  Government  to  restore  Exiles  to  servitude ...     57 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Further  efforts  to  enslave  the  Exiles 69 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Commencement  of  the  Second  Seminole  War 97 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Hostilities  continued lift 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Hostilities  continued 125 

CHAPTER    X. 

The  War  continued  —  Peace  declared  —  General  Jessup  assumes 
command  of  the  Army 135 


VIU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XI.  PAQB 

Greneral  Jessup  overthrows  his  own  eflforts  in  favor  of  Peace 142 

CHAPTER    XII. 

The  renewal  and  prosecution  of  the  War 156 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Vigorous  prosecution  of  the  War 172 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Great  diflSculties  interrupt  the  progress  of  the  War 189 

CHAPTER    XV. 

DiflGlculties  in  enslaving  Exiles  continued 214 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
Further  diflSculties  in  the  work  of  enslaving  the  ElxileS 224 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Total  failure  of  all  eflforts  to  enslave  the  Exiles 233 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Further  difficulties  in  prosecuting  the  War 251 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

Hostilities  continued 274 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Hostilities  continued 284 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Close  of  the  War 308 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

History  of  Exiles  continued 317 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

The  re-union  and  final  Exodus ^ 323 


THE 

EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


CHAPTER    I. 


CIRCUMSTANCES    ATTENDING    THE    EARLY   HISTORY -OF   SLAVERY  IN   THB 

COLONIES. 

Settlement  of  Florida  —  Boundaries  of  Carolina  —  Enslaving  Indians  —  They  flee  from  their 
Masters  —  Africans  follow  the  example  —  Spanish  policy  in  regard  to  Fugitive  Slaves  — 
Carolina  demands  the  surrender  of  Exiles—  Florida  refuses  —  Colony  of  Georgia  establish- 
ed—  Its  object  —  Exiles  called  Seminolos  —  Slavery  introduced  into  Georgia  —  Seminole 
Indians  separate  from  Creeks  —  Slaves  escape  from  Georgia  —  Report  of  Committee  of 
Safety  —  Report  of  General  Lee  —  Treaty  of  Augusta  —  Treaty  of  Galphinton  —  Singular 
conduct  of  Georgia — War  between  Creeks  and  Georgia  —  Resolution  of  Congress  — 
Treaty  of  Shoulderbone  —  Hostilities  continue  —  Georgia  calls  on  United  States  for 
assistance  —  Commissioners  sent  to  negotiate  Treaty  —  Failure  —  Col.  AVillett's  mission 
—  Chiefs,  head  men  and  Warriors  repair  to  New  York — Treaty  formed  —  Secret  article 
" — Extraordinary  covenants. 

Florida  was  originally  settled  by  Spaniards,  in  1558.     They 

were  the  first  people  to  engage  in  the  African  Slave  trade,  and 

sought  to  supply  other  nations  with  servants  from  the  coast  of 

Guinea.     The  Colonists  held  many  slaves,  expecting  to  accumulate 

wealth  by  the  unrequited  toil  of  their  fellow-man. 

^  Carolina  by  her  first  and  second  charters  claimed  a  vast 

extent  of  country,  embracing  bt.  Augustine  and  most  of 

Florida.     This  conflict  of  jurisdiction  soon  involved  the  Colonists 

in  hostilities.     The  Carolinians  also  held  many  slaves.     Profiting 

by  the  labor  of  her  servants,  the  people  sought  to  increase 

their  wealth  by  enslaving  the  Indians  who  resided  in  their 


lA  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

Ticinity.     Hence  in  the  early  slave  codes  of  that  colony  we  find 
reference  to  '*  negro  and  other  slaves." 

When  the  boundaries  of  Florida  and  South  Carolina  became 
established,  the  Colonists  found  themselves  separated  by  the  terri- 
tory now  constituting  the  State  of  Georgia,  at  that  time  mostly 
occupied  by  the  Creek  Indians. 

The  efforts  of  the  Carolinians  to  enslave  the  Indians,  brought 
with  them  the  natural  and  appropriate  penalties.  The  Indians  soon 
began  to  make  their  escape  from  service  to  the  Indian  country. 
This  example  was  soon  followed  by  the  African  slaves,  who  also  fled 
to  the  Indian  country,  and,  in  order  to  secure  themselves  from  pur- 
suit, continued  their  journey  into  Florida. 

We  are  unable  to  fix  the  precise  time  when  the  persons  thus  ex- 
iled constituted  a  separate  community.  Their  numbers  had  become 
60  great  in  1736,  that  they  were  formed  into  companies,  and  relied 
on  by  the  Floridians  as  allies  to  aid  in  the  defense  of  that  territory. 
They  were  also  permitted  to  occupy  lands  upon  the  same  t^rms  that 
were  granted  to  the  citizens  of  Spain ;  indeed,  they  in  all  respects 
became  free  subjects  of  the  Spanish  crown.  Probably  to  this 
early  and  steady  policy  of  the  Spanish  Government,  we  may  attri- 
bute the  establishment  and  continuance  of  this  community  of  Exiles 
in  that  territory.* 

A  messenger  was  sent  by  the  Colonial  Government  of 
South  Carolina  to  demand  the  return  of  those  fugitive 
slaves  who  had  found  an  asylum  in  Florida.  The  demand  was 
made  upon  the  Governor  of  St.  Augustine,  but  was  promptly 
rejected.  This  was  the  commencement  of  a  controversy  which  has 
continued  for  more  than  a  century,  involving  our  nation  in  a  vast 
expenditure  of  blood  and  treasure,  and  it  yet  remains  undetermined. 

The  constant  escape  of  slaves,  and  the  difficulties  resulting  there- 
from, constituted  the  principal  object  for  establishing  a  free  colony 
between  South  Carolina  and  Florida,  which  was  called  Georgia  ^ 

(1)  vide  Bancrnft's  and  HUdreth's  Histories  of  the  United  States. 
(2j  Vide  both  HistorieB  above  cited. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  3 

It  was  thought  that  this  colony,  being  free,  would  afford  the 
planters  of  Carolina  protection  against  the  further  escape  of  their 
slaves  from  service. 

These  Exiles  were  by  the  Creek  Indians  called  *'  Seminoles," 
which  in  their  dialect  signifies  "runaways,"  and  the  term  being 
frequently  used  while  conversing  with  the  Indians,  came  into  almost 
constant  practice  among  the  whites ;  and  although  it  has  now  come 
to  be  applied  to  a  certain  tribe  of  Indians,  yet  it  was  originally 
used  in  reference  to  these  Exiles  long  before  the  Seminole  Indians 
had  separated  from  the  Creeks. 

Some  eight  years  after  the  Colony  of  Georgia  was  first  establish- 
ed, efforts  were  made  to  introduce  Slavery  among  its  people.  The 
ordinary  argument,  that  it  would  extend  the  Christian  religion,  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  Whitfield  and  Habersham,  and  the  Saltzber- 
gers  and  Moravians,  until  they  consented  to  try  the  experiment,  and 
Georgia  became  thenceforth  a  Slaveholding  Colony,  whose  frontier 
bordered  directly  upon  Florida ;  bringing  the  slaves  of  her  planters 
into  the  very  neighborhood  of  those  Exiles  who  had  long  been  free 
under  Spanish  laws. 

^  A  difficulty  arose  among  the  Creek  Indians,  which  event- 

ually becoming  irreconcilable,  a  chief  named  Seacoffee, 
with  a  large  number  of  followers,  left  that  tribe — at  that  time  resid- 
ing within  the  present  limits  of  Georgia  and  Alabama — and  con- 
tinuing their  journey  south  entered  the  Territory  of  Florida,  and, 
under  the  Spanish  colonial  policy,  were  incorporated  with  the  Span- 
ish population,  entitled  to  lands  wherever  they  could  find  them  un- 
occupied, and  to  the  protection  of  Spanish  laws.^ 

From  the  year  1750,  Seacoffee  and  his  followers  rejected  all 
Creek  authority,  refused  to  be  represented  in  Creek  councils,  held 
themselves  independent  of  Creek  laws,  elected  their  own  chiefs,  and 
in  all  respects  became 'a  separate  Tribe,  embracing  the  Mickasukies, 
with  whom  they  united.  They  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Exiles, 
associated  with  them,  and  a  mutual  sympathy  and  respect  existing, 

(1)  Vide  Schoolcraft's  History  of  Indian  Tribes. 


4  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

some  of  their  people  intermarried,  thereby  strengthening  the  ties  of 
friendship,  and  the  Indians  having  fled  from  oppression  and  taken 
refuge  under  Spanish  laws,  were  also  called  Seminoles,  or  "run- 
aways." 

After  Georgia  became  a  Slaveholding  Colony,  we  are  led  to 
believe  the  practice  of  slaves  leaving  their  m.asters,  which  existed 
in  South  Carolina,  became  frequent  in  Georgia.  But  we  have  no 
definite  information  on  this  subject  until  about  the  commencement 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  (1775),  when  the  Council  of  Safety  for 
that  colony  sent  to  Congress  a  communication  setting  forth,  that  a 
large  force  of  Continental  troops  was  necessary  to  prevent  their 
slaves  from  deserting  their  masters }  It  was  about  the  first  com- 
munication sent  to  Congress  after  it  met,  in  1776,  and  shows  that 
her  people  then  sought  to  make  the  nation  bear  the  burthens  of 
their  slavery,  by  furnishing  a  military  force  sufficient  to  hold  her 
bondmen  in  fear ;  and  if  she  adheres  to  that  policy  now,  it  merely 
illustrates  the  consistency  of  her  people  in  relying  upon  the  freemen 
of  the  North  to  uphold  her  system  of  oppression. 

General  Lee,  commanding  the  military  forces  in  that 
'-•    colony,  called  the  particular  attention  of  Congress  to  the 
fact,  that  slaves  belonging  to  the  planters,  fled  from  servitude  and 
sought  freedom  among  the  ''Exiles  of  Florida. ^^ 

There  also  yet  remained  in  Georgia  many  descendants  of  those 
■who,  at  the  establishment  of  that  colony  and  since  that  time,  had 
opposed  the  institution  of  Slavery.  These  people  desired  to  testify 
their  abhorrence  of  human  servitude.  They  assembled  in  large 
numbers,  in  the  district  of  Darien,  and  publicly  resolved  as  follows  : 
**  To  show  the  world  that  we  are  not  influenced  by  any  contracted 
•'  or  interested  motives,  but  by  a  general  philanthropy  for  all  man- 
"kind,  of  whatever  climate,  language  or  complexion,  we  hereby 
"  declare  our  disapprobation  and  abhorrence  of  slavery  in  America." 
The  public  avowal  of  these  doctrines,  naturally  encouraged  slaves 
to  seek  their  freedom  by  such  means  as  they  possessed.     One  day's 

(1)  Vide  American  Archives,  Vol.  I.    Fifth  Series  :  1852. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  0 

travel  would  place  some  of  them  among  friends,  and  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  liberty ;  and  they  were  sure  to  be  kindly  received  and 
respectfully  treated,  soon  as  they  could  reach  their  brethren  in 
Florida.  Of  course  many  availed  themselves  of  this  opportunity 
to  escape  from  service. 

The  Exiles  remained  in  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  liberty 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  Creeks  were  a  powerful 
and  warlike  people,  whose  friendship  was  courted  during  the  san- 
guinary sti'uggle  that  secured  our  National  Independence.  During 
those  turbulent  times  it  would  not  have  been  prudent  for  a  master 
to  pursue  his  slave  through  the  Creek  country,  or  to  have  brought 
him  back  to  Georgia  if  once  arrested. 

The  Exiles  being  thus  free  from  annoyance,  cultivated  the  friend- 
ship of  their  savage  neighbors ;  rendered  themselves  useful  to  the 
Indians,  both  as  laborers  and  in  council.  They  also  manifested 
much  judgment  in  the  selection  of  their  lands  for  cultivation — loca- 
ting their  principal  settlements  on  the  rich  bottoms  lying  along  the 
Appalachicola  and  the  Suwanee  Rivers.  Here  they  opened  plantr 
ations,  and  many  of  them  became  wealthy  in  flocks  and  herds. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  authorities 

of  Georgia  are  said  to  have  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the 
Creek  Indians,  at  Augusta,  in  which  it  is  alleged  that  the  Creeks 
agreed  to  grant  to  that  State  a  large  tract  of  land,  and  to  restore 
such  slaves  as  were  then  resident  among  the  Creeks.  But  we  find 
no  copy  of  this  treaty  in  print,  or  in  manuscript.  As  early  as 
1789,  only  six  years  after  it  was  said  to  have  been  negotiated, 
Hugh  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  in  a  communication  to  Congress, 
declared  that  no  copy  of  this  treaty  was  then  in  the  possession  of 
Congress ;  and  it  has  not  been  since  reprinted.  Indeed,  it  is 
believed  never  to  have  been  printed. 

The  diflBculty  between  Georgia  and  the  Creeks  becoming 

more  serious,  the  aid  of  the  Continental  Congress  was 
invoked,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  that  State  in  the  enjoyment  of 
what  her  people  declared  to  be  their  rights.     Congress  appointed 


O  THE    EXILES    OF    FLOEIDA. 

three  commissioners  to  examine  the  existing  causes  of  difficulty,  and 
if  possible  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  the  Creeks  that  should  secure 
justice  to  all  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

Communities,  like  individuals,  often  exhibit  in  early  life  those 
characteristics  which  distinguish  their  mature  age,  and  become 
ruling  passions  when  senility  marks  the  downhill  of  life.  Thus 
Georgia,  in  her  very  infancy,  exhibited  that  desire  for  controlling 
our  National  Government  which  subsequently  marked  her  manhood. 
Possessing  no  power  under  the  Constitution  to  enter  into  any  treaty 
except  by  consent  of  Congress,  her  Executive  appointed  three 
Commissioners  to  attend  and  supervise  the  action  of  those  appointed 
by  the  Federal  Legislature.  The  time  and  place  for  holding  the 
treaty  had  been  arranged  with  the  Indians  by  the  Governor  of 
Georgia.  At  Galphinton,^  the  place  appointed,  the  Commissioners 
of  the  United  States  met  those  of  Georgia,  who  presented  them  with 
the  form  of  a  treaty  fully  drawn  out  and  ready  for  signatures,  and 
demanded  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States  its  adoption. 
This  extraordinary  proceeding  was  treated  by  the  Federal  Commis- 
sioners in  a  dignified  and  appropriate  manner,  in  their  report  to 
Congress.  One  important  provision  of  this  inchoate  treaty  stip- 
ulated for  the  return  to  the  people  of  Georgia  of  such  fugitive 
negroes  as  were  then  in  the  Indian  country,  and  of  such  as  might 
thereafter  flee  from  bondage. 

Tlic  Commissioners  appointed  by  Congress  waited  at  Galphinton 

(1)  This  was  the  residence  of  George  Galphin.  an  Indian  trader,  who,  in  1773,  aided  in 
obtaining  a  treaty  by  which  the  Creek  Indians  ceded  a  large  tract  of  land  to  the  British 
Government.  Georgia  succeeded  the  British  Government  in  its  title  to  these  lands,  by  the 
treaty  of  peace  in  1783  Some  fifty  years  afterwards,  the  descendants  of  Galphin  petitioned 
the  state  of  Georgia  for  compensation,  on  account  of  the  services  rendered  by  Galphin  in 
obtaining  the  treaty  of  1773.  But  the  Legislature  repudiated  the  claim.  The  heirs,  or 
rather  descendants  of  Galphin,  then  applied  to  Congress,  who  never  had  either  legal  or 
beneficial  interest  in  the  lands  obtained  by  the  treaty.  The  Representatives  from  Georgia 
and  from  the  South  generally  supported  the  claim.  Northern  men  yielded  their  objections 
to  this  absurd  demand,  and  in  1848  a  bill  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress  by  which  the 
descendants  of  Galphin,  and  their  attorneys  and  agents,  obtained  from  our  National  Treas- 
ury $243;871  86.  and  the  term  "  Galphin  "  has  since  become  synonymous  with  ''  pecula- 
tion" upon  the  public  Treasury. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  I 

several  days,  and  finding  only  two  of  the  one  hundred  towns  com- 
posing the  Creek  tribe  represented  in  the  council  about  to  bo  held, 
they  refused  to  regard  them  as  authorized  to  act  for  the  Creek 
nation,  and  would  not  consent  to  enter  upon  any  negotiation  with 
them  as  representatives  of  that  tribe.  This  course  was  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  ideas  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  Georgia. 
After  those  of  ihQ  United  States  had  left,  they  proceeded  to  enter 
into  a  treaty  with  the  representatives  from  the  two  towns,  who 
professed  to  act  for  the  whole  Creek  nation. 

This  pretended  treaty  gave  the  State  of  Georgia  a  large  territory; 
and  the  eighth  article  provided,  that  "  the  Indians  shall  restore  all 
*'  the  negroes,  horses  and  other  property,  that  are  or  may  hereafter 
"  be  among  them,  belonging  to  the  citizens  of  this  State,  or  to  any 
**  other  person  whatever,  to  such  person  as  the  governor  shall 
**  appoint.  "1 

This  attempt  to  make  a  treaty  by  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  direct 
violation  of  the  articles  of  Confederation,  and  to  bind  the  Creek 
nation  by  an  act  of  the  representatives  of  only  two  of  their  towns, 
constitutes  the  first  ofiicial  transaction  of  which  we  have  document- 
ary evidence,  in  that  long  train  of  events  which  has  for  seventy 
years  involved  our  nation  in  difficulty,  and  the  Exiles  of  Florida 
in  persecutions  and  cruelties  unequaled  under  Republican  govern- 
ments. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  United  States  made  report  of  their 
proceedings  to  Congress ;  and  those  of  Georgia  reported  to  the 
governor  of  that  State. ^  Their  report  was  transmitted  to  the 
Legislature,  and  that  body,  with  an  arrogance  that  commands  our 
admiration,  passed  strong  resolutions  denouncing  the  action  of  the 
Federal  Commissioners,  commending  the  action  of  those  of  Georgia, 
and  asserting  her  State  sovereignty  in  language  somewhat  bom- 
bastic. 

(1)  Vide  Report  of  Hugh  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  to  the  President,  dated  July  6,  1789. 
American  State  Papers.  Vol.  V   page  15,  where  the  Treaty  is  recited  in  full.  . 

(2)  Vide  papers  accompanying  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  above  referred  to, 
marked  A,  and  numbered  1,  2  and  3. 


P  TIIE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

1  »7QA  1        ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  making  of  this   pretended  treaty,  the 
Creeks  commenced  hostilities,  murdering  the  people  on  the 
frontiers  of  Georgia,  and  burning  their  dwellings.     The  Spanish 
authorities  of  Florida  were  charged  with  fomenting  these  difficul- 
ties, and  the  Congress  of  the  United   States  felt  constrained  to 
interfere.^      The  Commissioners  previously  appointed   to  form  a 
treaty  with  the  Creeks,  were,  by  a  resolution  of  the  Continental 
Congress,  adopted  Oct.  26,  instructed  to  obtain  a  treaty 
with  the  Indians  which  would  secure  a  return  of  all  pris- 
oners, of  whatever  age,  sex  or  complexion,  and  to  restore  all  fugitive 
slaves  belonging  to  citizens  of  the  United  Statesr 

This  resolution  was  the  first  act  on  the  part  of  the  Continental 
Congress  in  favor  of  restoring  fugitive  slaves.  It  was  adopted 
under  the  articles  of  Confederation,  before  the  adoption  of  our 
present  constitution,  and  of  course  constitutes  no  precedent  under 
our  present  government ;  yet  it  introduced  a  practice  that  has  long 
agitated  the  nation,  and  may  yet  lead  to  important  and  even  san- 
guinary results. 

Without  awaiting  the  action  of  Congress,  the  authorities 

of  Georgia,  by  her  agents,  entered  into  another  treaty,  at  a 

place  called  *'  Shoulderbone,"  by  which  the  Creeks  appear  to  have 

acknowledged  the  violation  of  the  Treaty  of  Galphinton,  and  again 

stipulated  to  observe  its  covenants. ^ 

We  have  no  reliable  information  as  to  the  number  of  the  Creek 
towns  represented  at  the  making  of  this  third  treaty  by  Georgia. 
The  whole  transaction  was  by  the  State,  in  her  own  name,  by  her 
own  authority,  without  consent  of  Congress,  and  all  papers  relating 
to  it,  if  any  exist,  would  of  course  be  among  the  manuscript  files 
of  that  State.  It  is  believed  that  Georgia  never  printed  any  of 
these  treaties ;  and  we  can  only  state  their  contents  from  recitals 

(1)  Vide  letter  of  James  ^Vhite  to  Major  General  Knox,  of  the  24th  May,  1787.    Amer- 
ican state  Papers,  Vol.  II,  Indian  AEfaira. 

(2)  American  State  Papers,  Vol  V,  page  25. 

(3)  Vide  Documents  accompanying  the  Treaty  of  Ne^r  York ;  Am.  State  Papers,  Vol.  I, 
Afi&iirs. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  9 

which  we  find  among  the  State  papers  of  the  Federal  Government. 
It  is  however  certain,  that  the  Creeks  denied  that  any  such  treaty- 
had  been  entered  into ;  and  they  continued  hostilities,  as  though  no 
such  treaty  had  been  thought  of  by  them.  This  pretended  Treaty 
of  Shoulderbone  exerted  no  more  moral  influence  among  the  Creeks 
than  did  that  of  Galphinton.  The  war  continued  between  the 
people  of  Georgia  and  the  Creeks.  The  savages  appeared  to  be 
aroused  to  indignation  by  what  they  regarded  as  palpable  frauds. 
Excited  at  such  efforts  to  impose  upon  them  stipulations  degrading 
to  their  character,  they  prosecuted  the  war  with  increased  bitterness. 
The  natural  results  of  such  turpitude,  induced  Georgia  to  be 
one  of  the  first  in  the  sisterhood  of  States  to  adopt  the 
Federal  Constitution  (Aug.  28).  Her  statesmen  expected 
it  to  relieve  their  State  from  the  burthens  of  the  war  which  then 
devastated  her  border. 

Soon  as  the  Federal  Government  was  organized  under 
the  constitution,  the  authorities  of  Georgia  invoked  its  aid, 
to  protect  her  people  from  the  indignation  of  the  Creek  Indians. 

General  Washington,  President  of  the  United  States,  at  once 
appointed  Commissioners  to  repair  to  the  Indian  country,  ascertain 
the  real  difficulty,  and  if  able,  they  were  directed  to  negotiate  a 
suitable  treaty,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States.  The  State  of 
Georgia  claimed  title  to  the  territory  ceded  by  the  treaties  of  Gal- 
phinton and  Shoulderbone ;  while  the  Creeks  entirely  repudiated 
them,  declaring  them  fraudulent,  denying  their  validity,  and  refus- 
ing to  abide  by  their  stipulations.  The  governor  of  Georgia  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States,  a  list  of 
property  which  had  been  lost  since  the  close  of  the  Revolution  by 
the  people  of  Georgia,  for  which  they  demanded  indemnity  of  the 
Creeks.  This  list  contained  the  names  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
negroes,  who  were  said  to  have  left  their  masters  dur-ing  the 
Revolution,  and  found  an  asylum  among  the  Creeks.  The  Treaty 
of  Galphinton  contained  a  stipulation  on  the  part  of  the  Creeks,  to 
return  all  prisoners,  of  whatever  age,  sex  or  color,  and  all  negroes 


10  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

belonging  to  the  citizens  of  Georgia,  ''then  residing  with  the 
Greeks y 

Arrangements  had  already  been  made  with  the  chiefs,  warriors 
and  principal  men  of  the  Creek  nation,  to  meet  the  Commissioners 
of  the  United  States  at  Rock  Landing,  on  the  Oconee  Hiver.  The 
Commissioners  were  received  by  the  Indians  with  great  respect 
and  formality;  but  soon  as  they  learned  that  the  Commissioners 
were  not  authorized  to  restore  their  lands,  they  broke  off  all  nego- 
tiation, promising  to  remain  in  peace,  however,  until  an  opportu- 
nity should  be  presented  for  further  negotiations. 

The  failure  of  this  mission  was  followed  by  \}aQ  appointment  of 
Col.  Willett,  an  intrepid  officer  of  the  Revolution,  who  was  author- 
ized to  proceed  to  the  Creek  nation,  and,  if  possible,  to  induce  its 
chiefs  and  headmen  to  repair  to  New  York,  where  they  could  nego- 
tiate a  new  treaty,  without  the  interference  of  the  authorities  or 
people  of  Georgia. 

Col.  Willett  was  successful.  He  induced  the  principal  chief, 
McGillivray,  the  son  of  a  distinguished  Indian  trader,  together  with 
twenty-eight  other  chiefs  and  warriors,  to  come  on  to  New  York,  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  a  treaty  with  the  United  States,  and  settling 
all  difficulties  previously  existing  between  Georgia  and  their  nation. 
On  their  way  to  New  York,  they  were  received  at  Philadelphia,  by 
the  authorities  of  that  city,  with  great  ceremony  and  respect.  Their 
vanity  was  flattered,  and  every  eflfort  made  to  induce  them  to 
believe  peace  with  the  United  States  would  be  important  to  both 
parties. 

At  New  York  they  found  Congress  in  session.  Here  they 
mingled  with  the  great  men  of  our  nation.  The  "  Columbian 
Order,"  or  "Tammany  Society,"  was  active  in  its  attentions. 
They  escorted  the  delegation  to  the  city,  and  entertained  them  with 
a  public  dinner;  and  made  McGillivray,  the  principal  chief,  a 
member  of  their  society.  In  this  way,  the  minds  of  the  Indians 
were  prepared  for  entering  into  the  treaty  which  followed. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  11 

There  was,  among  the  people  of  the  entire  nation,  an 
intense  anxiety  to  render  every  part  of  the  Union  satisfied 
and  pleased  with  the  Federal  Government,  then  just  formed,  as 
they  felt  that  their  only  hope  of  prosperity  depended  upon  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  federal  union.  There  was  also  a  general  sympathy 
throughout  the  nation  with  the  slaveholders  of  the  South,  who  were 
supposed  to  have  suffered  much,  by  the  loss  of  their  servants, 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution  ;  few  people  at  that  time  realizing 
the  moral  guilt  of  holding  their  fellow-men  in  bondage. 

While  the  revolutionary  contest  was  going  on,  many  slaves  in 
the  Southern  States  escaped  from  the  service  of  their  masters,  and, 
under  the  proclamations  of  various  British  commanders,  enlisted 
into  the  service  of  his  Britannic  Majesty ;  and  having  taken  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  crown  of  England,  Were  regarded  as  Brit- 
ish subjects.  Others  escaped  with  their  families,  and  getting  on 
board  British  vessels,  sailed  to  the  West  Indies,  where  they 
settled  as  ''free  persons.'^  Thus,  while  one  class  of  masters  had 
sustained  great  losses  by  the  enlistment  of  their  slaves,  another 
class  had  suffered  by  the  escape  of  their  bondmen,  through  the  aid 
of  British  vessels ;  while  a  third  sustained  an  equal  loss  by  the 
escape  of  their  servants  to  the  Seminoles  in  Florida.  These  three 
different  interests  united  in  claiming  the  aid  of  government  to 
regain  possession  of  their  slaves,  or  to  obtain  indemnity  for  their 
loss. 

The  timely  arrival  of  Mr.  Pinckney,  secured  the  insertion  of  a 
clause  in  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  providing  that  his  Britannic  Majesty 
should  withdraw  his  troops  from  all  American  forts,  arsenals,  ship- 
yards, etc.,  without  destroying  ordnance  or  military  stores,  or 
"carrying  away  any  negroes  or  other  property  of  the  inhabitants." 
This  provision  was  regarded  by  the  slaveholders  of  the  South  as 
securing  a  compensation  to  all  those  whose  slaves  had  enlisted  in 
the  British  army,  as  well  as  to  those  whose  slaves  had  escaped  to 
the  British  West  India  Islands  by  aid  of  English  vessels ;  while 
those  whose  servants  were  quietly  living  with  the  Seminoles,  had 


12  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

not  been  provided  for  by  the  treaty  of  peace. ^  These  circumstan- 
ces rendered  the  owners  of  the  Exiles  more  clamorous  for  the  inter- 
position of  the  State  Government,  inasmuch  as  the  federal  authority 
had  entirely  omitted  to  notice  their  interests,  while  it  was  supposed 
to  have  secured  a  compensation  to  the  other  two  classes  of  claim- 
ants. ^. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances,  that  General  Washington  pro- 
ceeded to  the  negotiation  of  the  first  treaty,  entered  into  under  our 
present  form  of  government.  The  chiefs,  headmen  and  warriors  of 
the  Creek  nation  were  present  at  New  York :  Georgia  was  also 
there  by  her  senators  and  representatives,  who  carefully  watched 
over  her  interests ;  and  General  Knox,  the  Secretary  of  War,  was 
appointed  commissioner  to  negotiate  a  treaty,  thus  to  be  formed, 
under  the  personal  supervision  of  the  President. 

The  object  of  the  President  was  effected,  a  treaty  was  formed, 
and  bears  date  August  1,  1790.  It  constitutes  the  title-page  of 
our  diplomatic  history.  This  first  exercise  of  our  treaty-making 
power  under  the  constitution,  was  put  forth  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Slave  interests  of  Georgia.  It  surrendered  up  to  the  Creeks  certain 
lands,  which  the  authorities  of  Georgia  claimed  to  hold  under  the 
treaty  of  Galphinton,  but  retained  substantially  the  stipulation  for 
the  surrender  of  negroes,  which  had  been  inserted  in  that  extraor- 
dinary compact. 

By  the  third  article  of  this  new  treaty,  it  was  stipulated  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  The  Creek  nation  shall  deliver,  as  soon  as  practicable,  to  the 
"  commanding  officer  of  the  troops  of  the  United  States  stationed 
"  at  Rock  Landing,  on  the  Oconee  River,  all  citizens  of  the  United 
*'  States,  white  inhabitants  or  negroes,  who  are  now  prisoners  in 
**  any  part  of  the  said  nation.  And  if  any  such  prisoners  or 
**  negroes  should  not  be  so  delivered,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 

(1)  The  reader  need  not  be  informed,  that  these  demands  of  indemnity  for  slaves  were 
promptly  rejected  by  the  English  government ;  and  Jay's  Treaty  of  1794,  svirrendered  them 
ibrerer. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  13 

**  June  ensuing,  the  governor  of  Georgia  may  empower  three 
**  persons  to  repair  to  the  said  nation,  in  order  to  claim  and  receive 
**  such  prisoners  and  negroes." 

Historians  have  referred  to  this  clause  as  containing  merely  a 
stipulation  for  the  surrender  oi  prisoners  ;^  but  the  manner  in 
which  the  term  ''negroes^^  stan^wj&nnected  in  the  disjunctive  form 
with  that  of  *'  prisoners,"  would  appear  to  justify,  at  least  to  some 
extent,  the  subsequent  construction  put  upon  it,  so  far  as  regarded 
negroes  then  resident  with  the  Creeks ;  but  it  certainly  makes  no 
allusion  to  those  who  were  residing  with  the  Seminoles  in  Florida. 

It  is  a  remarkable  feature  of  this  treaty,  that  the  Creek 
chiefs,  principal  men  and  warriors  should,  in  its  first  article, 
profess  to  act,  not  only  for  the  Upper  and  Lower  Creek  Towns,  but 
for  the  Seminoles  who  were  in  Florida,  protected  by  Spanish  laws. 
They  had  not  been  invited  to  attend  the  negotiation,  had  sent  no 
delegate,  were  wholly  unrepresented  in  the  Council ;  indeed,  so  far 
as  we  are  informed,  were  wholly  ignorant  of  the  objects  which  had 
called  such  a  council,  and  of  the  fact  even  that  a  council  was  held, 
or  a  treaty  negotiated. 

Our  fathers  had  just  passed  through  seven  years  of  war  and 
bloodshed,  rather  than  submit  to  ^^  taxation  without  represeiita- 
Hon  ;^^  but  this  attempt  to  bind  the  Seminole  Indians  to  surrender 
up  the  Exiles,  who  were  their  friends  and  neighbors,  and  who  now 
stood  connected  with  them  by  marriage,  and  in  all  the  relations  of 
domestic  life,  without  their  consent  or  knowledge,  constitutes  an 
inconsistency  which  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  desire  then 
prevalent,  to  gratify  and  please  those  who  wielded  the  slaveholding 
influence  of  our  nation. 

Another  extraordinary  feature  of  this  treaty  may  be  found  in  the 
secret  article,  by  which  the  United  States  stipulated  to  pay  the 
Creeks  fifteen  hundred  dollars  annually,  in  all  coming  time.  The 
reason  for  making  this  stipulation  secret  is  not  to  be  learned  from 
any  documentary  authority  before   the  public,  and  cannot  now  be 

(1)  Hildreth,  in  his  History  of  the  United  States,  speaks  of  in  that  light. 


14  THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

accounted  for,  except  from  the  delicacy  which  the  authorities  of  our 
nation  then  felt  in  taxing  the  people  of  the  free  States,  to  pay 
southern  Indians  for  the  return  of  those  Exiles.  And  it  is  inter- 
esting at  this  day  to  look  back  and  reflect,  that  for  nearly  seventy 
years  the  people  of  the  nation  have  contributed  their  funds  to  sus- 
tain the  authority  of  those  slaveholders  of  Georgia  over  their  bond- 
men, -while  Northern  statesmen  have  constantly  assured  their 
constituents,  they  have  nothing  to  do  with  that  institution. 

It  would  be  uncharitable  to  believe,  that  General  Washington 
was  at  that  time  conscious  that  he  was  thus  precipitatirg  our  nation 
upon  a  policy  destined  to  involve  its  government  in  difficulties, 
whose  termination  would  be  uncertain. 

After  the  treaty  had  been  agreed  to  by  the  parties  making  it, 
General  Washington  met  the  chiefs,  headmen  and  warriors,  as- 
sembled in  the  Hall  of  Representatives,  in  the  presence  of  members 
of  Congress  and  a  large  concourse  of  spectators.  The  treaty  was 
publicly  read,  and  to  each  article  the  Indians  expressed  their  assent, 
and  signed  it  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  each  receiving  from  the 
President  a  string  of  wampum.  The  President  then  shook  hands 
with  each,  which  concluded  the  ceremonies  of  the  day. 

The  treaty  was  transmitted  on  the  following  day  to  the  Senate, 
accompanied  by  a  Message  from  the  President,  saying  :  **  I  flatter 
**  myself  that  this  treaty  will  be  productive  of  present  peace  and 
"  prosperity  to  our  Southern  frontier.  It  is  to  be  expected,  also,  that 
"  it  will  be  the  means  of  firmly  attaching  the  Crocks  and  neighboring 
"  tribes  to  the  interests  of  the  United  States."  The  President  also 
alluded  in  his  message  to  the  treaty  of  Galphinton,  as  containing  a 
stipulation  to  cede  to  Georgia  certain  other  lands,  which  it  was 
believed  would  be  detrimental  to  the  interests!  of  the  Indians,  and, 
therefore,  tliat  covenant  had  been  disregarded  in  the  "  treaty  of 
New  York."  In  another  Message  to  the  Senate,  on  the  eleventh 
of  August,  the  President  says:  "This  treaty  may  be  regarded  as 
"  the  main  foundation  of  the  future  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
*'  Southwestern  frontier  of  the  United  States." 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  15 

On  the  ninth  of  August,  a  motion  was  made  in  the  Senate  to 
refer  the  treaty  to  a  select  committee,  which  was  rejected  by  a  vote 
often  nays  to  eight  yeas;  and  on  the  twelfth,  it  was  approved  by 
a  vote  of  fifteen  yeas  to  four  nays ;  but  we  have  no  report  of  any 
discussion  upon  the  subject,  nor  do  we  know  at  this  day  the  objec- 
tions which  dictated  the  votes  given  against  its  ratification.^ 

(1)  Vide  Annals  of  Congress,  Vol.  I,  pages  1068-70-74. 


CHAPTER    II. 

FURTHER  EFFORTS   TO  RESTORE  EXILES. 

Seminoles  repudiate  Treaty  of  New  York  —  Attempts  to  induce  Spanish  authorities  to 
deliver  up  the  Exiles  —  Their  refusal  — Lower  Creeks  hostile  to  Treaty  —  McOillivray  — 
His  parentage  and  character  —  Georgia  hostile  to  Treaty  —  Makes  war  upon  Creeks  — 
General  Washington  announces  failure  to  maintain  Peace  —  General  Knox's  recommen- 
dation —  Decision  of  United  States  Court  —  Exertions  —  Combination  of  various  classes 
of  Claimants  —  Washington  finds  his  influence  powerless  —  Appoints  Judge  Jay —  Fail- 
ure of  claims  on  England  —  Condition  and  habits  of  Exiles  —  Effect  on  Slaves  of  Georgia 
—  Treaty  of  Colibain  —  Commissioners  of  Georgia  leave  Council  in  disgust  —  Election  of 
the  elder  Adams  —  His  Administration  —  Election  of  Jefferson  —  His  Administration. 

The  long  pending  difficulties  between  Georgia  and  the  neiglibor- 
ing  tribes  of  Indians  were  now  (1791)  believed  to  be  permanently 
settled,  and  it  was  thought  the  new  government  would  proceed  in  the 
discharge  of  its  duties  without  further  perplexity.  But  it  was  soon 
found  impossible  for  the  Creeks  to  comply  with  their  stipulations. 
The  Seminoles  refused  to  recognize  the  treaty,  insisting  that  they 
"were  not  bound  by  any  compact,  arrangement  or  agreement,  made 
by  the  United  States  and  the  Creeks,  to  which  they  were  not  a 
party,  and  of  which  they  had  no  notice  ;  that  they  were  a  separate, 
independent  tribe ;  that  this  fact  was  well  known  to  both  Creeks 
and  the  United  States ;  and  that  the  attempt  of  those  parties  to 
declare  what  the  Seminoles  should  do,  or  should  not  do,  was  insult- 
ing to  their  dignity,  to  their  self-respect,  and  only  worthy  of  their 
contempt.  They  therefore  wholly  discarded  the  treaty,  and  repu- 
diated all  its  provisions.  They  resided  in  Florida,  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Spanish  laws,  subject  only  to  the  crown  of  Spain. 

(16) 


THE    EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  17 

There  thej  enjoyed  that  liberty  so  congenial  to  savages,  as  well  as 
civilized  men.  The  Creeks  dared  not  attempt  to  bring  back  the 
Exiles  by  force,  and  the  Government  of  the  United  States  was 
unwilling  to  invade  a  Spanish  colony  for  the  purpose  of  recapturing 
those  who  had  escaped  from  the  bonds  of  oppression,  and  had 
become  legally  ^ree. 

1 7Q9  1        ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^®  ^^  affairs,  an  agent  by  the  name  of  Seagrove 

was  sent  to  Florida  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  with  the 

Spanish  authorities  for  the  return  of  the  Exiles.    He  had  been  agent 

to  the  Creek  Indians,  and  well  understood  their  views  in  ref»-ard  to 

o 

the  treaty.  When  he  reached  Florida,  he  found  the  authorities  of 
that  Province  entirely  opposed  to  the  surrender  of  any  subjects  of 
the  Spanish  crown  to  slavery.  The  Exiles  were  regarded  as  holding 
the  same  rights  which  the  white  citizens  held ;  and  it  was  evident, 
that  the  representatives  of  the  King  of  Spain  encouraged  both  the 
Seminole  Indians  and  Exiles,  to  refuse  compliance  with  the  treaty 
of  New  York.i 

Nor  was  the  Creek  nation  united  upon  this  subject.  The  "  lower 
Qreeks,"  or  those  who  resided  on  the  southern  frontier  of  Georgia, 
were  not  zealous  in  their  support  of  the  treaty ;  and  it  was  said  that 
McGillivray,  the  principal  chief  of  the  Creeks,  was  himself  becom- 
ing unfriendly  to  the  United  States,  and  rather  disposed  to  unite 
with  the  Spanish  authorities.  This  man  exerted  great  influence 
with  the  Indians.  He  was  the  son  of  an  Indian  trader,  a  Scotchman, 
by  a  Creek  woman,  the  daughter  of  a  distinguished  chief.  He  had 
received  a  good  English  education ;  but  his  father  had  joined  the 
English  during  the  Revolution,  and  he,  having  been  offended  by 
some  leading  men  of  Georgia,  had  taken  up  his  residence  with  the 
jidians  and  become  their  principal  chief,  in  whom  they  reposed 
implicit  confidence. 

<Amid   these  difficulties,  the  people  of  Georgia  manifested   an 
equal  hostility  to  the  treaty,  inasmuch  as  it  surrendered  a  large  ter- 

(1)  Vido  Correspondence  on  this  subjpct  between  Seagrove  and  the  War  Department. 
American  State  Papers,  Vol.  V,  pages  304-5,  320,  336,  387,  and  392. 
2 


18  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

ritory  to  that  State,  which  the  authorities  of  Georgia  pretended  to 
have  obtained  by  the  treaty  of  Galphinton.  The  general  feeling  in 
that  State  was  for  from  being  satisfied  with  the  action  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government.  Seagrove,  writing  to  the  Secretary  of  War  on 
this  subject,  declared,  that  "to  such  lengths  have  matters  gone, 
'*  that  they  (the  Georgians)  now  consider  the  troops  and  servants 
"  of  the  United  States  who  are  placed  among  them,  nearly  as  great 
"  enemies  as  they  do  the  Indians."  ^ 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  Governor  of  Georgia  was  address- 
ed, by  order  of  the  President ;  but  he  evidently  participated  in  the 
popular  feeling  of  his  State.  While  the  Spanish  authorities  and 
Seminoles,  both  Indians  and  Exiles,  repudiated  the  treaty  of  New 
York,  Governor  Tellfair,  of  Georgia,  declared  that  the  people  of 
his  State  "  icoald  recognize  no  treaty  in  lohich  her  coimnissioners 
were  not  consulted.^ ^  Instead  of  observing  its  stipulations  of  peace, 
he  proceeded  to  raise  an  army ;  invaded  the  Creek  country,  attacked 
one  of  their  towns  said  to  be  friendly  to  Georgia,  killed  some  of 
their  people,  took  others  prisoners,  burned  their  dwellings,  and 
destroyed  their  crops. 

The  Creeks  declared  their  inability  to  return  the  Exiles,^ 
1794.1 

and,  on  the  thirtieth  of  January,  General  Washington,  in 

a  Special  Message  to  Congress,  announced  the  failure  of  all  efforts 

to  maintain  tranquillity  between  the  people  of  Georgia  and  the 

Creek  Indians.     Such  were  the  difl&culties  surrounding  the  subject 

of  regaining  the  Exiles,  that  General  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  in  a 

written  communication  addressed   to  the  President,  recommended 

that  Congress  should  make  an  appropriation  to  their  owners,  from 

the  public  treasury,  as  the  only  practicable  manner  in  which  that 

matter  could  be  settled.^     This  communication  was  transmitted  to 

Congress  by  the  President,  accompanied   by  a  special  message, 

recommending  it  to  the  consideration  of  that  body ;  but  the  mem- 

(1)  American  State  Papers,  "  Indian  Affairs."  Vol.  II,  p  305. 

(2)  Vide.  Ulk  of  principal  Chief  at  Treaty  of  Coleraia. 

(3)  Vide  Annals  ol  Congress  of  that  date. 


THE    EXILES    01?   FLORIDA.  19 

bers  appeared  unwilling  to  adopt  the  policy  thus  suggested.  They 
seem  to  have  entertained  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  appropria- 
ting the  money  of  the  people  to  pay  for  fugitive  slaves.  They 
respectfully  laid  the  Message,  and  the  recommendation  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  War,  upon  the  table,  and  ordered  them  to  be  printed. ^ 

The  claimants  of  the  Exiles  were  again  encouraged  and  strength- 
ened in  their  expectations  by  the  excitement  prevailing  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  Union,  arising  from  a  decision  of  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  United  States,  held  at  Richmond,  Virginia.  Ac  the 
commencement  of  the  war,  the  Stales  prohibited  the  collection  of 
debts  due  British  subjects  from  citizens  of  the  Colonies.  These 
debts  had  remained  unpaid  for  some  sixteen  years ;  and  although 
the  debtors  entertained  an  expectation  of  paying  them  at  some 
future  period,  many  intended  meeting  those  demands  by  the  funds 
which  they  supposed  would  be  awarded  them  as  indemnity  for 
slaves  carried  away  in  British  vessels  during  the  Revolution,  and 
for  those  enlisted  into  the  British  army. 

These  laws,  enacted  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution, 
were  declared  by  the  Court  to  have  been  superseded  by  the 
treaty  of  peace,  in  1783 ;  and  the  debtors  in  the  several  States 
thus  became  liable  to  the  payment  of  those  debts,  while  their 
demands  of  indemnity  for  slaves  were  pending,  and  the  British 
Government  had  thus  far  refused  to  acknowledge  their  validity. 
These  claimants  became  impatient  of  delay,  and  demanded  that 
another  treaty  be  formed  with  England,  by  which  they  could  obtain 
indemnity  for  the  loss  of  their  slaves.  These  uniting  with  those 
who  claimed  a  return  of  the  Exiles  in  Florida,  constituted  an  influ- 
ential portion  of  the  people  of  the  Southern  States,  whose  joint 
influence  was  exerted  to  involve  the  Government  in  the  support  of 
slavery. 

Notwithstanding  these  clamors,  the  Government  was  powerless 
as   to   obtaining   relief  for   either  class.      The   British   Ministry 

(1)  Vide  papers  accompanying  the  Treaty  of  Colerain,  American  State  Papers,  Vol.  I, 
"Indian  Aflfaire." 


20  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

refused  indemnity,  and  the  Seminoles,  supported  and  encouraged 
bj  the  Spanish  authorities,  were  inexorable  in  their  refusal  to  sur- 
render the  Exiles. 

At  that  early  period  of  our  history,  the  subject  of  slavery  greatly 
perplexed  the  Federal  Administration ;  nor  was  the  genius,  or  the 
influence  of  Washington,  sufficiently  powerful  to  silence  the  mal- 
contents. He  was  fortunate  in  selecting  Judge  Jay,  of  New  York, 
as  a  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  for  negotiating  a  treaty  with  Great 
Britain.  This  illustrious  patriot  possessed  great  purity  of  character; 
had  long  been  distinguished  for  his  devotion  to  the  welf^ire  of  the 
nation ;  and,  although  a  Northern  man.  Southern  slave  claimants 
could  raise  no  objection  to  him. 

But  every  step  towards  the  adjustment  of  the  claims  arising 
for  slaves  carried  away  by  the  English  ships,  or  enlisted  into 
the  British  army,  had  the  effect  to  render  the  owners  of  Exiles 
more  importunate.  There  was  only  one  recourse,  however,  left  for 
the  Administration ;  they  could  do  no  more  than  to  call  on  the 
Creeks  for  a  new  treaty,  in  order  to  adjust  these  claims. 
^  As  the  President  was  about  to  take  measures  for  obtain- 

ing another  treaty  with  the  Creeks,  news  arrived  from 
England  that  Judge  Jay,  in  forming  a  new  treaty  with  the  British 
Crown,  had  been  constrained  to  surrender  all  claims  of  our  citizens 
for  slaves  carried  from  the  United  States  in  British  vessels  durins: 

o 

the  war,  or  for  those  who  had  enlisted  into  the  British  service. 
This  news  created  much  excitement  among  the  slaveholders  of  the 
Southern  States.  The  treaty  was  denounced  by  the  public  Press^ 
and  a  strong  effort  was  made  to  defeat  its  approval  by  the  Senate 
But  failing  in  that,  the  slave  power  was  rallied  in  opposition  to 
making  any  appropriation,  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  for 
carrying  the  treaty  into  effect,  and  perhaps  at  no  time  since  the 
Union  was  formed,  has  it  been  in  greater  danger  of  disruption ;  but 
the  friends  of  the  treaty  prevailed  in  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and 
it  became  a  paramount  law  of  the  nation. 

While  these  incidents  were  transpiring,  the  Exiles  were  engaged 


TUE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  SI 

in  cultivating  tbeir  lands,  extending  their  plantations  and  increasing 
their  flocks  and  herds,  and  consolidating  their  friendships  with  the 
Indians  around  thera.  Of  all  those  facts  the  bondmen  of  Georgia 
had  full  knowledge.  It  were  impossible  for  them  to  contemplate 
their  friends,  in  the  enjoyment  of  these  rights  and  privileges,  with- 
out a  strong  desire  to  share  in  those  blessings  of  freedom.  The 
example  of  the  Exiles  was  thus  constantly  exerting  an  influence 
upon  those  who  remained  in  bondage.  Many  of  them  sought 
opportunities  to  flee  into  Florida,  where  they,  in  like  manner, 
became  free  subjects  of  Spain. 

This  condition  of  things  induced  General  Washington  to  make 
another  effort  to  remedy  existing  evils,  and  prevent  their  recurrence 
in  future.  He  took  measures  to  obtain  the  attendance  of  the  Chiefs, 
head  men  and  warriors  of  the  Creek  nation,  at  a  place  called  Cole- 
rain,  for  the  purpose  of  forming  another  treaty.  He  again  ap- 
^  pointed  Benjamin  Hawkins,  George  Clymer  and  Andrew 

Pickens,  Commissioners,  to  meet  the  Indians  in  Council, 
and  agree  upon  the  proper  adjustment  of  pending  diflBculties. 
These  men  were  interested  in  the  institution  of  Slavery,  and  were 
supposed  to  be  perfectly  acceptable  to  the  claimants,  as  well  as  to 
the  authorities  of  Georgia. 

The  parties  met  at  the  place  appointed,  and  proceeded  to 
the  consideration  of  the  proposed  treaty.  The  Creeks  were  not 
disposed  to  make  further  grants  of  territory ;  nor  were  they  able  to 
give  any  better  assurance  for  the  return  of  the  Exiles  than  had 
been  given  at  New  York.  They  insisted  that,  by  the  treaty  of 
New  York,  they  were  only  bound  to  return  those  negroes  who  had 
been  captured  since  the  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain ;  these  they  had  delivered  up,  so  far  as  they 
were  able  to  surrender  them.  They  admitted  there  were  more 
negroes  among  them,  whom  they  might  probably  obtain  at  some 
future  day,  and  expressed  a  willingness  to  do  so.  It  is  however 
evident,  from  the  talk  of  the  various  Chiefs,  that  they  had  no  idea 
of  returning  those  Exiles  who  were  residing  in  Florida — no  allusion 


ZSff  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

being  made  to  them  by  either  of  the  Commissioners,  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States,  nor  by  the  Indians.  The  Council  was  also 
attended  by  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  who  attempted 
to  dictate  the  manner  of  transacting  the  business,  and,  even  in 
offensive  language,  charged  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States 
with  improper  conduct;  but  in  no  instance  did  they  name  the 
Seminoles,  nor  allude  to  any  obligation,  on  the  part  of  the  Creeks, 
to  return  the  Exiles  resident  among  the  Seminoles.  It  should 
however  be  borne  in  mind,  that  these  Commissioners  on  behalf  of 
Georgia  left  the  council  in  disgust,  before  the  close  of  the  negotia- 
tion. In  the  treaty  itself,  however,  there  is  a  stipulation  that  the 
treaty  of  New  York  shall  remain  in  force,  except  such  parts  as 
were  expressly  changed  by  that  entered  into  at  Colerain  ;  and  that 
portion  of  the  treaty  of  New  York  by  which  the  Creeks  assumed  to 
bind  the  Seminoles,  was  not  changed.^ 

The  seventh  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Colerain  reads  as  follows:  — 
"  The  Creek  nation  shall  deliver,  as  soon  as  practicable,  to  the 
**  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  at  such  place  as  he  may  direct, 
"  all  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  white  inhabitants  and  negroes, 
"  who  are  now  prisoners  in  any  part  of  the  said  nation,  agreeably  to 
*'  the  treaty  at  New  York ;  and  also  all  citizens,  white  inhabitants, 
*'  negroes  and  property,  taken  since  the  signing  of  that  treaty.  And 
"  if  any  such  prisoners,  negroes,  or  property,  should  not  be  delivered 
*'  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  January  next,  the  Governor  of  Georgia 
*'  may  empower  three  persons  to  repair  to  the  said  nation,  in  order  to 
"  claim  and  receive  such  prisoners,  negroes  and  property,  under  the 
"  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States."  This  stipulation 
was  understood  by  the  Creeks,  and  they  were  willing  to  perform  it; 
but  it  is  very  obvious,  from  all  the  circumstances,  that  they  had  no 
idea  of  binding  the  Seminoles  to  return  the  Exiles  resident  in 
Florida. 

(1)  Vide  the  papers  accompanying  this  Treaty  when  submitted  to  the  Senate.  They  are 
collected  in  the  second  volume  of  .\merican  State  Papers,  entitled  "  Indian  Affairs."  They 
will  afford  much  interesting  mat^.e^  as  to  the  doctrines  of  "  State  Rights  "  and  Nullifica- 
tion, which  it  is  unnecessary  to  embrace  in  this  work. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  23 

The  State  of  Georgia  obtained  very  little  territory  by  this  treaty, 
and  no  further  indemnity  for  the  loss  of  their  fugitive  bondmen. 
The  people  of  that  State,  therefore,  were  greatly  dissatisfied  with  it. 
But  the  extraordinary  feature  of  this  treaty,  consists  in  the  sub- 
sequent construction  placed  upon  it  by  the  authorities  of  Georgia, 
who,  twenty-five  years  subsequently,  insisted  that  the  Sominoles 
were  in  fact  a  part  of  the  Creek  tribe,  bound  by  the  Creek  treaties, 
and  that  the  Creek  nation  were  under  obligation  to  compel  the 
Seminoles  to  observe  treaties  made  by  the  Creeks. 

In  each  of  the  treaties  made  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and 
the  Creeks,  as  well  as  in  that  made  at  New  York,  between  the 
United  States  and  the  Creek  nation,  attempts  had  been  made  to 
bind  the  Seminoles,  although  that  tribe  had  steadily  and  uniformly 
denied  the  authority  of  the  Creeks  to  bind  them ;  and  being  sus- 
tained by  the  Spanish  authorities,  it  became  evident  that  all  further 
efforts  to  induce  them  to  submit  to  the  government  of  the  Creeks 
would  be  useless.  This  independence  they  had  maintained  for 
nearly  half  a  century.  They  had  in  no  instance  acknowledged  the 
authority  of  the  Creeks  since  they  left  Georgia,  in  1750 ;  nor  is  it 
reasonable  to  suppose  the  authorities  of  that  State,  or  those  of  the 
United  States,  were  ignorant  of  that  important  circumstance. 

The  flagrant  injustice  of  holding  the  Creeks  responsible  for  fugi- 
tive slaves  resident  in  Florida,  and  under  protection  of  the  Spanish 
crown,  must  be  obvious  to  every  reader ;  and  the  inquiry  will  at 
once  arise.  Why  did  the  Creek  chiefs  at  New  York  consent  to 
such  a  stipulation  ?  The  answer  perhaps  mays  be  found  in  the 
secret  article  of  that  treaty,  giving  to  the  Creeks  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  annually, /orever,  and  to  McGillivray  twelve  hundred  dollars 
during  life,  and  to  six  other  chiefs  one  hundred  dollars  annually. 
These  direct  and  positive  bribes  could  not  fail  to  have  effect.  Tlie 
necessity  for  keeping  this  article  secret  from  the  Indians  generally, 
and  from  the  people  of  the  United  States,  is  very  apparent ;  as  the 
propriety  of  thus  taking  money,  drawn  from  the  free  States  to  bribe 
Indian  chiefs  to  obligate  their  nation  to  seize  and  return  fugitive 


24 


THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


slaves,  "would  have  been  doubted  by  savages  as  well  as  civilized 
men.  But  the  duty  of  the  Creeks  to  seize  and  return  the  Exiles 
was  legally  recognized  by  the  treaty  of  Colerain,  which  admitted 
the  treaty  of  New  York  to  be  in  force.  This  was  regarded  as  a 
continuance  of  the  claims  of  Georgia,  although  the  Creeks  appear  to 
have  had  no  idea  of  entering  into  such  stipulations. 
-  ^^^  -.  Many  circumstances  now  combined  to  quiet  the  appre- 
hensions of  the  fugitive  bondmen  in  Florida.  The  elder 
Adams  had  been  elected  President  in  the  autumn  of  1796,  and 
assumed  the  duties  of  his  office  on  the  fourth  of  March  following. 
A  descendant  of  the  Pilgrims,  he  had  been  reared  and  educated 
among  the  lovers  of  liberty ;  he  had  long  served  in  Congress ;  he 
had  reported  upon  the  rights  of  the  people  of  the  Colonies  in  1774, 
and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  who  reported  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  in  1776,  and  to  its  doctrines  he  had  ever  exhib- 
ited an  unfaltering  devotion.  From  such  an  Administration  the 
claimants  in  Georgia  could  expect  but  little  aid. 

Another  consideration,  cheering  to  the  friends  of  Freedom,  was 
the  total  failure  of  the  claims  on  Great  Britain,  for  slaves  lost 
during  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  The  influence  of  those  claim- 
ants was  no  longer  felt  in  the  Government.  The  public  indignation 
was  also  somewhat  excited  against  the  institution  of  Slavery  by 
incidents  of  a  barbarous  character,  which  had  then  recently  trans- 
pired in  North  Carolina.  After  the  promulgation  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  the  Quakers  of  that  State,  conscious  of  its 
momentous  truths,  proceeded  in  good  faith  to  emancipate  their 
slaves;  believing  that  the  only  mode  in  which  they  could  evince 
their  adherence  to  its  doctrines. 

The  advocates  of  oppression  were  offended  at  this  practical  recog- 
nition of  the  "  equal  right  of  all  men  to  liberty,"  and,  to  manifest 
their  abhorrence  of  such  doctrines,  arrested  the  slaves  so  emancipa- 
ted as  fugitives  from  labor.  The  Quakers,  ever  true  to  their 
convictions  of  justice,  lent  their  influence,  and  contributed  their 
funds,  to  test  the  legal  rights  of  the  persons  thus  set  at  liberty, 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  25 

Defore  the  proper  tribunals  of  the  State;  and  the  question  was 
carried  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  where  a  final  judgment  was  rend- 
ered in  favor  of  their  freedom.  This  decision  appears  to  have 
disappointed  general  expectation  among  the  advocates  of  slavery, 
and  created  much  excitement  throughout  the  State. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  an  act  was  passed  author- 
izing persons  possessing  landed  property  to  seize  and  reenslave  the 
people  thus  emancipated.  But  the  planters  of  that  State  were 
usually  possessed  of  wealth  and  intelligence,  and,  holding  prin- 
ciples of  honor,  they  refused  to  perform  so  degrading  a  service ; 
and  the  liberated  negroes  continued  to  enjoy  their  freedom. 

But  the  opponents  of  liberty  became  so  clamorous  against  the 
example  thus  set  in  favor  of  freedom,  that  the  Legislature  passed 
an  amendatory  act,  authorizing  any  person  to  seize,  imprison  and 
sell,  as  slaves,  any  negro  who  had  been  emancipated  in  said  State, 
except  those  who  had  served  in  the  army  of  the  United  States 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

Persons  of  desperate  character,  gamblers,  slave-dealers  and  horse 
thieves,  were  now  authorized  to  gratify  their  cupidity,  by  seizing 
and  selling  persons  who  had  for  years  enjoyed  their  liberty ;  and 
the  scenes  which  followed,  were  in  no  respect  creditable  to  the 
State,  to  the  civilization  or  Christianity  of  the  age.  Emancipated 
families  were  broken  up  and  separated  for  ever.  In  some  instances 
the  wife  escaped,  while  the  husband  was  captured.  Parents  were 
seized,  and  their  children  escaped.  Bloodhounds  were  employed 
to  chase  down  those  who  fled  to  the  forests  and  swamps,  in  order  to 
avoid  men  more  cruel  than  bloodhounds. 

The  Quakers,  so  far  as  able,  assisted  these  persecuted  people  to 
escape  to  other  States.  Some  left  North  Carolina  on  board  ships ; 
others  fled  north  by  land ;  and  many  reached  the  free  States,  where 
their  descendants  yet  live.  But  even  our  free  States  did  not  afford 
a  safe  retreat  from  the  cruelty  of  inexorable  slave-catchers.  Those 
free  persons  were  seized  in  Philadelphia,  and,  under  the  fugitive 
slave  law  of  1793,  were  imprisoned  in  that  city;  and,  what  excites 


26 


THE    EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 


Btill   greater   wonder,    were   delivered   up   and   carried    back    to 
Dondage.^ 

Some  of  these  people,  while  in  Pennsylvania,  sent  petitions  to 
Congress,  praying  protection  against  such  barbarity ;  and  great 
excitement  was  aroused  among  Southern  members  by  the  presenta- 
tion of  such  petitions.  The  Quakers  of  that  State,  and  of  New 
Jersey,  also  sent  petitions  to  Congress,  praying  that  these  people 
may  be  protected  against  such  piratical  persecution.  The  popular 
feeling  of  the  nation  was  shocked  at  these  things,  and  great  indig- 
nation against  the  institution,  generally,  was  aroused. 

We  have  no  record  of  further  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  claim- 
ants to  obtain  a  return  of  the  Exiles,  after  the  Treaty  of  Colerain, 
until  the  close  of  Mr.  Adams's  administration.  During  that 
period,  the  fugitives  remained  quietly  in  their  homes,  undisturbed 
by  their  former  masters.  Their  numbers  were  often  increased  by 
new  arrivals,  as  well  as  by  the  natural  laws  of  population,  and  they 
began  to  assume  the  appearance  of  an  established  community. 

In  1801,  Mr.  Jefferson  entered  upon  tlie  duties  of  President. 
He  had  himself  penned  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
manifested  a  deep  devotion  to  its  doctrines.  Nor  do  we  find  that 
any  attempt  was  made  by  him  for  the  return  of  the  Exiles ;  nor 
were  there  any  measures  adopted  to  obtain  indemnity  for  the  loss  of 
the  claimants  during  the  eight  years  of  his  Administration. 

In  1802,  a  new  law  regulating  intercourse  with  the  Indian 
tribes  was  enacted,  by  which  the  holders  of  slaves  were  secured  for 
the  price  or  value  of  any  bondmen  who  should  leave  his  master  and 
take  up  his  residence  with  any  Indian  tribe  resident  in  the  United 
States,  or  Territories  thereof —  at  least  such  was  the  construction 
given  to  this  statute. 

The  Creeks,  Cherokees,  and  other  Southern  tribes,  had  gradu- 
ally adopted  the  institution  of  Slavery,  so  long  practiced  by  their 

(1)  Vide  Annals  of  IVth  Cpngress,  2d  Session. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  27 

more  civilized  neighbors,  and  thus  became  interested  in  every  effort 
to  extinguish  the  hope  cherished  among  their  own  bondmen,  of 
regaining  freedom  by  fleeing  from  their  masters.  And  many  cir- 
cumstances now  appeared  to  favor  the  idea,  that  no  more  attempts 
would  be  made  to  compel  a  return  of  the  Exiles  to  bondage. 


CHAPTER    III. 

HOSTILIITES   MAINTAINED   BY  GEORGIA. 

Mr.  Madison's  election  —  Ilis  cliaracter  —  Desire  of  people  of  Georgia  to  enslave  Exiles  — 
They  demand  annexation  of  Florida  —  Congress  passes  a  law  for  taking  possession  of 
that  Territory  —  General  Mathews  appointed  Commissioner  —  Declares  insurrection  — 
Takes  possession  of  Amelia  Island  —  Spanish  Government  demands  explanation  — Tho 
President  disavows  acts  of  Mathews  —  Governor  Mitchell  succeeds  Mathews  —  Georgia 
raises  an  Army  —  Florida  invaded  —  Troops  surrounded  by  savage  foes  —  Their  danger  — 
Their  retreat  —  Stealing  Slaves  —  Ix)wer  Creeks  join  Seminoles  —  Georgia  demands  their 
surrender  —  Chiefs  refuse  —  Georgia  complains  —  President  refuses  to  interfere  — Another 
invasion  of  Florida  —  To\vns  burned;  Cattle  stolen  —  Troops  withdrawn  from  Amelia 
Island —  Public  attention  directed  toward  our  Northern  frontier  —  Lord  (.''ockrane  enters 
Chesapeake  Bay  —  Issiies  Proclamation  to  Slaves  —  Dismay  of  Slaveholders  —  Slaves  go 
on  board  British  ships  —  Several  vessels  enter  Appalachicola  Bay  —  Col.  Nichols  lands 
there  with  Troops  —  Gathers  around  him  Exiles  and  Indians  —  Builds  a  Fort,  arms  it, 
and  places  Military  Stores  in  its  Magazines  —  Treaty  of  Peace  with  England —  Provisioa 
In  regard  to  Slaves  taken  awaj'  during  War  —  Claimants  of  the  Exiles  encouraged  —  Col. 
Nichols  delivers  Fort  to  the  Exiles  —  Their  plantations,  wealth,  and  social  condition  — 
Our  Army  —  General  Gaines  represents  Fort  as  in  possession  of  Outlaws  —  Plans  for  its 
destruction  —  Correspondence  —  General  Jackson's  or«ler  —  Col.  Clinch's  Expedition  — 
Met  by  Sailiu'g-Master  Loomis  and  two  gun-boats  —  Fort  blown  up  —  Destruction  of 
human  life  —  Negroes  captured  and  enslaved  —  Property  taken  —  Claimed  by  Governor 
of  Florida  —  First  Seminole  War  commenced. 

"When  Mr.  Madison  assumed  the  duties  of  President  (Marcli  4, 
1809),  the  Exiles  were  quietly  enjoying  their  freedom ;  each  sitting 
under  his  own  vine  and  fig-tree,  without  molestation  or  fear.  Many 
had  been  born  in  the  Seminole  country,  and  now  saw  around  them 
children  and  grand-children,  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  necessaries 
of  life.  Many,  even  of  those  who  fled  from  Georgia  after  the  for- 
mation of  that  colony,  had  departed  to  their  final  rest ;  but  their 
children  and  friends  had  been  comparatively  free  from  persecutions 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  29 

since  the  Treaty  of  Coleraiu,  in  1796.  Discarding  all  connection 
with  the  Creeks,  and  living  under  protection  of  Spain,  and  feeling 
their  right  to  liberty  was  "  self-evident,"  they  believed  the  United 
States  to  have  tacitly  admitted  their  claims  to  freedom.  With  these 
impressions,  they  dwelt  in  conscious  security,  believing  no  further 
attempts  would  be  made  to  reenslave  them.  "Mr.  Madison  had 
penned  the  memorable  Address  of  Congress  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  published  near  the  close  of  the  old  Confederation, 
in  which  was  reiterated,  in  o-lowino-  lano-uao^e,  the  doctrines  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence ;  and  in  the  Convention  that  framed 
the  Constitution,  he  had  declared  "it  would  be  wrong  to  admit,  in 
that  instrument,  that  man  can  hold  property  in  man.^^ 
1 81  n  T  ^^'^  people  of  Georgia  were  not  satisfied  with  the  existing 
state  of  things.  They  were  greatly  excited  at  seeing  those 
who  had  once  been  slaves,  in  South  Carolina  and  in  Georgia,  now 
live  quietly  and  happily  in  the  enjoyment  of  liberty,  with  their 
flocks  and  their  herds,  their  wives  and  their  little  ones,  around 
them ;  but  they  were  on  Spanish  soil,  protected  by  Spanish  laws. 
The  only  mode  of  enslaving  them  was,  firstly,  to  obtain  jurisdiction 
of  the  Territory;  and  the  annexation  of  Florida  to  the  United 
States  was,  accordingly,  urged  upon  the  Federal  Government. 

Spain  had  acquired  her  American  territories  by  conquest,  and 
was  too  proud  to  part  with  them.  An  excitement,  however,  was 
raised  in  favor  of  its  annexation ;  and  this  anxiety  to  secure  the 
^  -.^^  -,    slave  interests  of  the  South,  soon  extended  to  Congress, 

1  ol IT  o         ' 

and  infused  itself  into  the  Executive  policy  of  the  nation. 
A  law  was  passed  by  the  two  Houses,  in  secret  session,  and  approved 
by  the  President,  for  taking  possession  of  Florida.  Gen.  Mathews, 
a  slaveholder  of  Georgia,  was  appointed  Commissioner  for  that 
purpose.  A  few  malcontents  were  found  in  the  northeastern  part 
of  the  Territory ;  their  numbers  were  increased  by  men  of  desperate 
fortunes  from  Georgia ;  and  an  insurrection  was  proclaimed  by  the 
Acting  General.  Mathews,  commanding  the  insurgents,  took  pos- 
session of  Amelia  Island,  and  of  the  country  opposite  to  it  on  the 


80  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

main  land.  The  Spanish  Government,  on  learning  the  outrage, 
remonstrated  with  our  Executive,  who  disavowed  the  acts  of  Math- 
ews, whom  he  recalled  ;  and  proceeded  to  appoint  General  Mitchell, 
the  Governor  of  Georgia,  to  act  as  Commissioner,  in  place  of 
Mathews. 

Mitchell,  however,  continued  to  hold  military  possession  of  the 
island  and  part  of  the  main  land,  and,  in  fact,  continued  to  carry 
forward  the  policy  which  Mathews  had  inaugurated.  These  things 
occurred  while  our  nation  was  professedly  at  peace  with  Spain,  and 
constituted  a  most  flagrant  violation  of  our  national  faith. 

The  Executive  of  Georgia,  apparently  entertaining  the 
idea  that  his  State  was  competent  to  declare  war  and 
make  peace,  raised  an  army,  which,  under  the  command  of  the 
Adjutant  General,  entered  Florida  with  the  avowed  intention  of 
exterminating  the  Seminoles,  who  had  so  long  refused  to  surrender 
the  Exiles ;  while  the  real  object  was  the  recapture  and  reenslave- 
ment  of  the  refugees.  Tl>e  Creeks  of  the  Lower  Towns,  however, 
took  sides  with  the  Seminoles,  in  opposing  this  piratical  foray  of 
slave-catchers.  The  army  having  penetrated  a  hundred  miles  or 
more  into  Florida,  found  itself  surrounded  with  hostile  savages. 
Their  supplies  were  cut  off;  the  men,  reduced  almost  to  a  state  of 
starvation,  were  compelled  to  retrace  their  steps;  and  with  great 
loss  the  survivors  reached  Georgia.  But  they  robbed  those  Spanish 
inhabitants  who  fell  in  their  way  of  all  their  provisions,  and  left 
them  to  suffer  for  the  want  of  food.  Nor  were  the  Georgians  satis- 
fied with  taking  such  provisions  as  were  necessary  to  support  life ; 
they  also  took  with  them  a  large  number  of  slaves,  owned  by 
Spanish  masters,  with  whom  they  resided.^ 

(1)  The  claims  of  these  ancient  Spanish  inhabitants  for  indemnity  against  those  robber- 
ies, have  been  pressed  upon  the  consideration  of  Congress  for  the  last  twentj'-fiTe  years,  and 
•were  recently  pending  before  the  Court  of  Claims.  When  the  bill  for  their  relief  was  under 
discussion  before  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  1843,  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  pre- 
sented a  list  of  some  ninety  slaves,  for  the  loss  of  whom  the  owners  claimed  compensa- 
tion from  the  United  States.  But  the  discussions  which  arose  on  private  bills  were  not  at 
that  time  reported ;  and  neither  this  exhibit,  nor  the  speech  of  Mr.  Adams,  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Congressional  Debates  of  that  day. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  31 

The  people,  and  the  authorities  of  Georgia,  were  greatly  incensed 
at  the  Creek  Indians,  who  had  assisted  the  Seminoles  in  defending 
themselves;  and  the  Governor  of  that  State  demanded  of  the  chiefs 
a  surrender  of  those  individuals  who  had  thus  offended  against  the 
sovereignty  of  that  commonwealth.  The  chiefs  refused  to  deliver 
up  their  brethren,  and  the  Governor  complained  to  the  President 
of  this  disregard  of  slaveholding  comity  by  the  Creeks. 

The  Federal  authorities  [.ppear  to  have  felt  very  little  interest  in 
the  matter,  and  Georgia  determined  to  redress  her  own  grievances. 
The  Legislature  of  that  State,  deeming  their  interests  neglected  by 
the  Federal  Government,  passed  resolutions  declaring  the  occupa- 
tion of  Florida  essential  to  the  safety  and  welfare  of  their  people, 
whether  Congress  authorized  it  or  not ;  and  they  passed  an  act  for 
raising  a  force  "  to  reduce  St.  Augustine  and  punish  the  Indians.  ^^ 

Under  this  declaration  of  war  by  the  sovereign  power  of  Georgia, 
another  army  was  raised.  Hunters,  trappers,  vagabonds,  and  men 
of  desperate  fortunes,  were  collected  from  that  State,  from  East 
Tennessee,  and  from  other  Southern  States,  to  the  number  of  five 
hundred;  and  Florida  was  again  invaded.  This  expedition  was 
more  successful,  in  some  respects,  than  the  first.  They  burned  two 
or  three  of  the  smaller  Seminole  towns,  destroyed  several  cornfields 
that  had  been  planted  by  the  Exiles,  and  drove  back  to  Georgia 
large  herds  of  cattle,  which  they  had  stolen  from  the  negroes ;  yet 
the  principal  object  of  the  Expedition  failed :  They  were  unable  to 
capture  an  individual,  or  family,  of  the  Exiles.  There  were  no 
Spanish  inhabitants  in  that  part  of  Florida  from  whom  they  could 
capture  slaves,  and  they  were  compelled  to  return  without  human 
victims,  but  with  the  loss  'of  several  individuals  of  their  own  party. 
Thus,  after  a  struggle  of  more  than  two  years  (ending  May,  1813), 
the  State  of  Georgia  found  itself  unable  to  conquer  Florida  or  the 
Seminoles,  or  to  capture  the  Exiles.  Further  prosecution  of  the 
war  was  given  up,  the  troops  were  withdrawn  from  Amelia  Island, 
and  peace  was  restored. 

This  extraordinary  proceeding,  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  appears 


32  THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

to  have  excited  very  little  attention  at  the  time ;  probably  in  con- 
sequence of  the  more  important  operations  that  were  then  being 
carried  forward,  upon  our  Northern  and  Northwestern  frontiers. 
Harrison  at  Tippecanoe,  and  at  Maumee ;  and  Scott  and  Van  Eens- 
selaer  at  Queenston,  and  along  the  Niagara  frontier,  were  gallantly 
confronting  the  British  army,  aided  by  powerful  allies  from  the 
various  neighboring  tribes  of  savages;  and  so  greatly  was  the 
attention  of  the  people  of  the  Northern  States  absorbed  in  these 
operations,  that  they  were  scarcely  conscious  of  the  slave-catching 
forays  carried  on  by  the  State  of  Georgia.  Indeed,  during  these 
operations,  the  public  men  of  that  State  were  among  the  most 
vehement  advocates  for  a  strict  consti'uction  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, and  for  maintaining  the  American  Union. 

These  transactions  upon  our  Southern  frontier,  called 
attention  of  British  Ministers  to  the  Seminoles  and  the 
Exiles.  A  hostile  fleet  entered  Chesapeake  Bay,  under  Lord 
Cochrane,  who  issued  a  proclamation  inviting  all  persons  (meaning 
slaves),  who  desired  to  emigrate  from  the  United  States,  to  come 
with  their  families  on  board  his  Britannic  Majesty's  ships  of  war; 
assuring  them  of  the  privilege  of  entering  his  Majesty's  naval 
service,  or  of  settling  with  their  families,  as  free  persons,  in  either 
of  the  British  West  India  Islands.  This  proclamation  was  widely 
circulated,  and  spread  very  general  consternation  along  our  South- 
ern seaboard  :  it  gave  the  slaveholders  of  Georgia  occasion  to  look 
to  their  own  protection,  and  to  secure  the  fidelity  of  those  bondmen 
who  yet  remained  in  the  service  of  their  masters.^ 

Two  British  sloops  of  war  and  some  smaller  vessels  suddenly 
appeared  in  Appalachicola  Bay,  where  they  landed  a  body  of  troops, 

(1)  Many  slaves  actually  fled  from  their  masters  and  found  an  asylum  on  board  British 
vessels.  Some  sixty,  belonging  to  a  planter  named  Forbes,  who  resided  in  Georgia,  left  his 
plantation  and  took  shelter  on  board  the  ship  commanded  by  Lord  Cochrane.  They  were 
transported  to  Jamaica,  where  they  settled  and  lived  as  other  free  people.  After  the  resto- 
ration of  peace,  Forbes  sued  his  Lordship,  before  the  British  courts,  for  damages  sustained 
by  the  loss  of  the.<;e  slaves.  The  case  elicited  much  learning  in  regard  to  the  law  of  ."Slavery, 
and,  next  to  that  of  Sommerset,  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  important  on  that  subject 
ever  litigated  before  an  English  court. 


Negro  A"bTa"ham. 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  33 

under  Lieut.  Colonel  Nichols,  of  the  British  Army,  for  the  purpose 
of  lending  support  and  protection  to  the  Exiles  and  their  Indian 
allies.  He  opened  communications  with  them,  furnished  them  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  and  soon  drew  around  him  a  considerable 
force  of  Indians  as  well  as  negroes.  His  encampment  was  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Appalachicola  River,  some  thirty  miles  above  its  mouth. 
In  November,  he  completed  a  strong  fort  on  the  bank  of  that  stream. 
Some  eight  pieces  of  heavy  ordnance  were  mounted  upon  its  walls, 
and  its  magazine  was  well  stored  with  the  material  of  war.^  It  was 
evidently  intended  as  a  defense  against  the  forays  of  slave-catchers, 
who  were  not  expected  to  bring  with  them  heavy  artillery.  The 
plan  was  well  conceived.  Even  the  plundering  expeditions  au- 
thorized by  the  State  of  Georgia,  would  have  been  unable  to  make 
any  impression  on  this  fortification.  But  neither  Nichols,  nor  the 
Exiles,  appear  to  have  anticipated  the  employment  of  the  United 
States  navy  in  a  piratical  work,  discarded  by  most  Christian  nations 
and  people,  and  allowed  to  be  carried  on  only  upon  the  African 
coast. 

The  British  fleet  withdrew  from  the  coast  of  Georgia,  and  the 
slaveholders  of  that  State  were  relieved,  for  a  time,  from  those 
apprehensions  of  slave  insurrection  which  had  been  excited  by  the 
proclamation  of  Lord  Cochrane. 

In  the  meantime  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  was  ratified,  and  peace 
restored  to  the  country.     In  that  treaty  the  interests  of  Slavery 

(1)  "  Monette,"  in  his  "  History  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,"  saj's  Woodbine  erected 
this  fort  in  the  summer  of  1816  ;  and  such  were  the  representations  made  before  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  in  1819,  to  investigate  the  conduct  of  General  Jackson,  in  taking  possess- 
ion of  Florida.  But  the  reader  will  notice  the  Letter  of  General  Gaines,  hereafter  quoted, 
which  bears  dato  on  the  14th  May,  1815,  and  officially  informed  the  Secretary  of  War  that 
"  negroes  and  outlaws  have  taken  possession  of  a  Fort  on  the  Appalachicola  River." 
This  was  more  than  a  year  before  the  time  of  erecting  the  fort,  according  to  "  Monette." 

The  parapet  of  the  fort  was  said  to  be  fifteen  feet  high  and  eighteen  thick,  situated 
upon  a  gentle  cliff,  with  a  fine  stream  emptying  into  the  river  near  its  base,  and  a  swamp 
in  the  rear,  which  protected  it  from  the  approach  of  artillery  by  land.  On  its  walls  were 
mounted  one  thirty-two  pounder,  three  twenty-four  pounders,  two  nine  pounders,  two  six 
pounders,  and  one  brass  five  and  a  half  inch  howitzer.  Vide  Official  Report  of  Sailing- 
Master  Loomis. 

3 


d4 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


had  not  been  forgotten ;  and  the  same  stipulations  were  inserted, 
in  regard  to  the  withdrawal  of  his  Majesty's  troops  and  navy, 
"without  taking  or  carrying  away  any  negroes  or  other  property 
"of  the  citizens,"  which  characterized  the  treaty  of  1782.  The 
owners  of  slaves  who  had  fled  from  service  under  the  proclamation 
of  Lord  Cochrane,  now  determined  to  obtain  compensation  for  their 
loss.  This  general  feeling  again  aroused  the  cupidity  of  those  whose 
fathers  had  once  claimed  to  own  those  Exiles,  who  fled  from  Geor^ 
gia  some  thirty  or  forty  years  previously. 

In  the  spring  of  1815,  Colonel  Nichols  and  his  troops  withdrew 
from  Florida,  leaving  the  fort,  with  its  entire  armament  and  maga- 
zine of  military  stores,  in  the  possession  of  the  Exiles,  who  resided 
in  the  vicinity.  Their  plantations  extended  along  the  river  several 
miles,  above  and  below  the  fort.^  Many  of  them  possessed  large 
herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  which  roamed  in  the  forests,  gathering 
their  food,  both  in  summer  and  winter,  w^ithout  expense  or  trouble 
to  their  owners. 

The  Pioneer  Exiles  from  South  Carolina  had  settled  here  long 
before  the  Colony  of  Georgia  existerd.  Several  generations  had 
lived  to  manhood  and  died  in  those  forest-homes.  To  their  descend- 
ants it  had  become  consecrated  by  "  many  an  oft  told  tale  "  of  early 
adventure,  of  hardship  and  suffering ;  the  recollection  of  which  had 
been  retained  in  ti*adition,  told  in  story,  and  sung  in  their  rude 
lays.  Here  were  the  graves  of  their  ancestors,  around  whose 
memories  were  clustered  the  fondest  recollections  of  the  human 
mind.  The  climate  was  genial.  They  were  surrounded  by  exten- 
sive forests,  and  far  removed  from  the  habitations  of  those  enemies 
of  freedom  who  sought  to  enslave  them  ;  and  they  regarded  them- 
selves as  secure  in  the  enjoyment  of  liberty.  Shut  out  from  the 
cares  and  strifes  of  more  civilized  men,  thoy  were  happy  in  their 
own  social  solitude.     So  far  from  seeking  to  injure  the  people  of 

(1)  This  is  the  official  account  of  Sailing-Master  Loomis,  who  commanded  the  naval  ex- 
pedition subsequently  sent  to  reduce  this  fortress. 

"  Monette,"  in  his  History  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  says,  "  Near  the  Fort  the  fields 
werefine^  and  extended  along  the  river  nearly _^/i;y  miles,^^ 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  JRI 

tbe  United  States,  they  were  only  anxious  to  be  exempt,  and  en- 
tirely free  from  all  contact  witli  our  population  or  Government; 
while  they  faithfully  maintained  their  allegiance  to  the  Spanish 
crown. 

Peace  with  Great  Britain,  however,  had  left  our  army 
without  active  employment.  A  portion  of  it  was  stationed 
alono"  our  Southern  frontier  of  Georgia,  to  maintain  peace  with  the 
Indians.  The  authorities  and  people  of  Georgia  maintained  social 
and  friendly  relations  with  the  officers  and  men  of  the  army.  By 
means  of  Indian  spies,  the  real  condition  of  the  Exiles  was  also 
ascertained  and  well  understood.  What  means  were  used  to  excite 
the  feelings  or  prejudices  of  the  military  officers  against  these  un- 
offending Exiles,  is  not  known  at  this  day.  Most  of  the  officers 
commanding  in  the  South  were,  however,  slaveholders,  and  proba- 
bly felt  a  strong  sympathy  with  the  people  of  Georgia  in  their 
indignation  against  them,  for  obtaining  and  enjoying  liberty  without 
permission  of  their  masters. 

General  Gaines,  commanding  on  the  Southern  frontier  of  Geor- 
gia, making  Fort  Scott  his  head-quarters,  wrote  the  Secretary  of 
War  (May  14),  saying,  "certain  negroes  and  outlaws  have  taken 
*'  possession  of  a  fort  on  the  Appalachicola  River,  in  the  Territory 
"of  Florida."  He  assured  the  Secretary,  that  he  should  keep 
watch  of  them.  He  charged  them  with  no  crime,  imputed  to  them 
no  hostile  acts.  He  was  conscious  that  they  had  taken  possession 
of  the  fort  solely  for  their  own  protection ;  but  he  styled  them 
negroes,  which,  in  the  language  of  that  day  among  slaveholders, 
was  regarded  as  an  imputation  of  guilt ;  and  outlaw  was  supposed 
to  be  a  proper  term  with  which  to  characterize  those  who  had  fled 
from  bondage  and  sworn  allegiance  to  another  government.  ^ 

(1)  The  reader  will  at  once  see,  that  these  people  were  as  much  under  the  protection  of 
Spain,  as  the  fugitive  slaves  now  in  Canada  are  under  the  protection  of  British  laws.  They 
were  as  clearly  Spanish  subjects  as  the  latter  are  British  subjects.  By  the  law  of  nations, 
Spain  had  the  same  right  to  permit  her  black  subjects  to  occupy  "  Blount's  Fort,"  that  the 
Queen  of  England  has  to  permit  Fort  Maiden  to  be  occupied  by  her  black  subjects.  The 
only  distinction  between  the  two  cases  is,  Spain  was  weak  and  unable  to  maintain  her  na- 
tional honor,  and  national  rights  ;  while  England  has  the  power  to  do  both. 


OT  THE    EXILES  OP    FLORIDA. 

For  more  than  a  year  subsequently  to  the  date  of  this  letter, 
General  Gaines  made  the  Exiles  a  subject  of  frequent  communica 
tion  to  the  War  Department.  In  this  official  correspondence,  he 
at  all  times  spoke  of  them  as  "runaways,"  "outlaws,"  "pirates," 
''murderers,"  etc.;  but  in  no  instance  did  he  charge  them  with 
any  act  hostile  to  the  United  States,  or  to  any  other  people  or 
government. 

Of  these  communications  the  Exiles  were  ignorant.  They  con- 
tinued in  peaceful  retirement,  cultivating  the  earth,  and  gaining  a 
support  for  themselves  and  families.  In  the  autumn  of  1815, 
they  gathered  their  crops,  provided  for  the  support  of  the  aged  and 
infirm,  as  well  as  for  their  children.  They  carefully  nursed  the 
sick ;  they  buried  their  dead ;  they  lived  in  peace,  and  enjoyed  the 
fruits  of  their  labor.  The  following  spring  and  summer  found  them 
in  this  enviable  condition. 

While  the  Exiles  living  on  the  Appalachicola  were  thus 
lolo.j  .  /.  1    .  .       . 

pursumg  the  even  tenor  of  their  ways,  plans  were  ripenmg 

among  the  slaveholders  and  military  officers  of  our  army  for  their 

destruction.     A  correspondence  was  opened  by  the  Secretai-y  of 

War  with  General  Jackson,  who  commanded  the  Southwestern 

Military  District  of  the  United  States,  holding  his  head-quarters  at 

Nashville,  Tennessee.     Various  letters  and  communications  passed 

between  those  officers  in  regard  to  this  "Negro  Fort,"  as  they 

called  it. 

Power  is  never  more  dangerous  than  when  wielded  by  military 

men.     They  usually  feel  ambitious  to  display  their  own  prowess, 

and  that  of  the  troops  under  their  command ;  and  no  person  can 

read  the  communications  of  General  Gaines,  in  regard  to  the  Exiles 

who  had  gathered  in  and  around  this  fort,  without  feeling  conscious 

that  he  greatly  desired  to  give  to  the  people  of  the  United  States 

an  example  of  tlie  science  and  power  by  which  they  could  destroy 

human  life.^ 

(1)  Vide  the  Tolaminons  Correspondence  on  this  subject  contained  in  Ex.  Doc.  119, 2d 
Seesion,  XYth  Congress. 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 


37 


At  length,  on  the  sixteenth  of  May,  General  Jackson  wrote 
General  Gaines,  saying,  "  I  have  little  doubt  of  the  fact,  that  this 
"  fort  has  been  established  by  some  villains  for  the  purpose  of 
**  rapine  and  plunder,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  blown  up,  regardless 
**  of  the  ground  on  which  it  stands;  and  if  your  mind  shall  have 
**  formed  the  same  conclusion,  destroy  it  and  return  the  stolen 
**  negroes  and  property  to  their  rightful  owners."  ^ 

Without  attempting  to  criticise  this  order  of  General  Jackson, 
we  must  regard  a  fort  thus  situated,  at  least  sixty  miles  from  the 
border  of  the  United  States,  as  a  most  singular  instrument  for  the 
purpose  of  "  rapine,"  or  plundering  our  citizens.  Nor  could  Gen- 
eral Jackson  have  entertained  any  apprehensions  from  those  who 
occupied  the  fort.  The  entire  correspondence  showed  them  to  be 
refugees,  seeking  only  to  avoid  our  people ;  indeed,  his  very  order 
shows  this,  for  he  directs  General  Gaines  to  return  the  ''stolen 
negroes  to  their  rightful  owners."  The  use  of  opprobrious  epithets 
is  not  often  resorted  to  by  men  in  high  ofiicial  stations :  yet  it  is 
difficult  to  believe,  that  General  Jackson  supposed  these  negroes  to 
have  been  stolen  ;  for,  neither  in  the  official  correspondence  on  this 
subject,  nor  in  the  papers  accompanying  it,  embracing  more  than  a 
hundred  documentary  pages,  is  there  a  hint  that  these  negroes  were 
^'stolen,^^  or  that  they  had  committed  violence  upon  any  person,  or 
upon  the  property  of  any  person  whatever.  They  had  sought  their 
own  liberty,  and  the  charge  of  stealing  themselves,  was  used  like 
the  other  epithets  of  **  outlaws,"  ^'  pirates"  and  "  murderers,"  to 
cast  opprobrium  upon  the  character  of  men  who,  if  judged  by  their 

(1)  Perhaps  no  portion  of  our  national  liistory  exliibits  such  disregard  of  international 
law,  as  this  unprovoked  invasion  of  Florida.  For  thirty  years,  the  slaves  of  our  Southern 
States  have  been  in  the  habit  of  fleeing  to  the  British  Provinces.  Here  they  are  admitted 
to  all  the  rights  of  citiz-enship,  in  the  samfl  manner  as  they  were  in  Florida.  They  vote 
and  hold  office  under  British  laws  ;  and  when  our  Government  demanded  that  the  English 
Ministry  should  disregard  the  rights  of  these  people  and  return  them  to  slavery,  the  British 
Minister  contemptuously  refused  even  to  hold  correspondence  with  our  Secretary  of  State 
on  a  subject  so  abhorrent  to  every  principle  of  national  law  and  self-respect.  Our  Govern- 
ment coolly  submitted  to  the  scornful  arroganc<e  of  England ;  but  did  not  hesitate  to  invade 
Florida  with  an  armed  force,  and  to  seize  the  faithful  subjects  of  Spain,  and  enjslave  them- 


8>9  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

love  of  liberty  or  their  patriotism,  would  now  occupy  a  position  not 
less  honorable  in  the  history  of  our  country  than  is  assigned  to  the 
patriots  of  1776. 

Nor  is  it  easy  to  discover  the  rule  of  international  law,  which 
authorized  the  Executive  of  the  United  States,  or  the  ofl5cers  of  our 
army,  to  dictate  to  the  crown  of  Spain  in  what  part  of  his  ter- 
ritory he  should,  or  should  not,  erect  fortresses ;  or  the  constitu- 
tional power  which  they  held  for  invading  the  territory  of  a  nation 
at  peace  with  the  United  States,  destroy  a  fort,  and  consign  its 
occupants  to  slavery.  But  those  were  days  of  official  arrogance  on 
the  one  hand,  and  popular  submission  on  the  other.  The  Exiles, 
or  their  ancestors,  had  once  been  slaves.  They  now  were  cultiva- 
ting the  richest  lands  in  Florida,  and  possessed  wealth ;  they  were 
occupying  a  strong  fortress.  Many  slaves  during  the  recent  war 
had  escaped  from  their  masters,  in  Georgia,  and  some  were  sup- 
posed to  be  free  subjects  of  Spain,  living  in  Florida;  and  if  the 
Exiles  were  permitted  to  enjoy  their  plantations  and  property  in 
peace,  it  was  evident  that  the  institution  in  adjoining  States  would 
De  in  danger  of  a  total  overthrow.  These  facts  were  apparent  to 
General  Jackson,  as  well  as  to  General  Gaines  and  the  slaveholders 
of  Georgia. 

General  Gaines  only  awaited  permission  from  his  superior  to 
carry  out  the  designs  of  the  slaveholders,  who  had  become  alarmed 
at  the  dangers  to  which  their  "  peculiar  institution"  was  subjected. 
Upon  the  receipt  of  the  order  above  quoted,  he  detailed  Lieut,  Col. 
Clinch,^  of  the  regular  troops,  with  his  regiment  and  five  hundred 
friendly  Creek  Indians,  under  Mcintosh,  their  principal  chief,  to 
carry  out  the  directions  of  General  Jackson.  Colonel  Clinch  was 
directed  to  take  with  him  two  pieces  of  artillery,  for  the  purpose  of 
cannonading  the  fort  if  necessary.^ 

This  commencement  of  the  first  Seminole  war  was,  at  the  time, 

(1)  Hon.  Duncan  L.  Clinch.  He  left  the  service  in  1841,  and  was  subsequently  a  Mem 
ber  of  Congress  for  several  years,  and  died  in  1852. 

(2)  War  was  thus  waged  against  Spain,  by  Executive  authority,  without  consulting 
Congress  :  and  no  member  of  that  body  uttered  a  protest,  or  denunciation  of  the  act. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  Olf 

unknown  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  It  was  undertaken 
for  the  purposes  stated  in  General  Jackson's  order,  to  "  blow  up 
the  fort,  and  return  the  negroes  to  their  rightful  owners.'^  His- 
torians have  failed  to  expose  the  cause  of  hostilities,  or  the  barbar- 
ous foray  which  plunged  the  nation  into  that  bloody  contest  which 
cost  the  people  millions  of  treasure  and  the  sacrifice  of  hundreds  of 
human  lives. 

It  was  July  before  the  arrangements  were  fully  made  by  Colonel 
Clinch  and  his  savage  allies  for  descending  the  river,  with  suitable 
artillery  and  supplies,  to  accomplish  the  object  of  their  mission.^ 
The  Creeks,  having  entered  into  the  treaties  of  New  York  and 
Colerain,  by  which  they  bound  themselves,  twenty  years  previously, 
to  return  those  Exiles  who  fled  from  Georgia,  and  having  failed  to 
perform  those  stipulations,  now  cheerfully  united'  with  the  American 
army  in  this  first  slave-catching  expedition  undertaken  by  the  Fed- 
eral Government. 

Of  these  movements  the  Exiles  had  been  informed  by  their 
neighbors,  the  friendly  Creeks ;  for,  among  the  Lower  Creeks, 
were  individuals  who  at  all  times  sympathized  with  them,  and  kept 
them  informed  of  the  measures  adopted  for  their  destruction.  All 
the  families  living  on  the  river  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  fled 
to  it  for  protection.  They  had  no  idea  of  the  advantages  arising 
from  scientific  warfare;  they  believed  their  fortification  impregnable. 
Colonel  Nichols  had  erected  it  for  the  purpose  of  affording  them 
protection,  and  they  had  no  doubt  of  its  eflSciency  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

Such  were  the  delays  attending  the  journey,  in  consequence  of 
diflSculties    in   transporting  heavy  guns   and    provisions,  that    the 

(1)  In  Ex.  Doc.  No.  119,  2d  Session.  XVth  Congrress,  may  be  found  the  official  corres- 
pondence between  the  War  Department  and  General  Jackson  ;  al?o  that  between  General 
Jackson  and  General  Gaines,  together  with  the  orders  of  each,  as  well  as  the  correspond- 
ence between  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  Commodore  Patterson  ;  and  the  order  of  the 
latter  officer  to  Sailing-Master  Loomis  ;  and  the  final  report  of  Sailing-Master  Loomis  and 
General  Clinch.  In  none  of  those  papers  is  there  any  act  of  hostility  mentioned  or  refer- 
red to  as  having  been  commirted  by  the  Exiles,  or  the  Seminole  Indians,  prior  to  their 
reaching  the  vicinity  of  the  Fort. 


40  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

troops  did  not  reach  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  until  the  twenty-fourth 
of  July.  In  the  meantime,  Commodore  Patterson,  in  pursuance  of 
orders  from  the  naval  department,  had  detailed  Sailing-Master 
Loomis,  with  two  gun-boats,  to  assist  in  carrying  out  the  order  of 
General  Jackson.^ 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  July,  Colonel  Clinch  commenced  a 
reconnoisance  of  the  fort.  On  the  twenty-fifth,  he  cleared  away  the 
brush  and  erected  a  battery,  and  placed  upon  it  two  long  eighteen- 
pounders,  and  commenced  a  cannonade  of  the  fortress.  At  the 
time  of  this  investment,  there  were  about  three  hundred  Exiles  in 
the  fort,  including  women  and  children,  besides  thirty-four  Seminole 
Indians  :^  yet  in  the  official  report  of  Colonel  Clinch,  he  makes  no 
mention  of  his  fire  being  returned ;  nor  does  he  say  that  any  of  his 
men  were  killed  or  wounded  by  the  occupants  of  the  fort. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  July,  Sailing-Master  Loomis,  with  his 
command,  reached  a  point  on  the  river  some  two  miles  below  the 
fort.  Colonel  Clinch  met  him  at  that  place,  for  consultation,  and 
informed  him  that  his  fire  had  thus  far  proved  ineffectual,  and  that 
a  nearer  approach  of  artillery  by  land  would  be  difficult.^ 

Judging  from  the  language  used  in  his  official  dispatch,  Sailing- 
Master  Loomis  must  have  entertained  some  feelings  of  distrust 
towards  Colonel  Clinch,  as  they  evidently  separated  in  bad  temper : 
yet  no  officer  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  ever  exhibited 
greater  prudence  in  his  preparations,  or  more  firmness  in  battle,  than 
Colonel  Clinch.  He  was,  however,  a  man  of  kind  and  humane 
feelings,  and  high  notions  of  honor.  It  has  been  supposed  by 
many  of  his  friends,  that  he  shrank  from  the  perpetration  of  the 
outrage  which  he  had  been  detailed  to  commit.^ 

(1)  Hildreth  states  that  three  gan-boats  were  detailed  on  that  oooasion ;  but  the  report 
of  Sailing-Master  Loomis  speaks  only  of  tuw. 

(2)  Hildreth  states  the  number  to  hayo  been  about  three  hundred,  partly  Indians  and 
partly  negroes. 

(3)  Monotte  says  this  expedition  was  undertaken  by  Col.  Clinch  upon  his  own  responsi- 
bility,  to  enable  some  boats  laden  with  provisions  to  pass  up  the  river.  A  strange  misap- 
prehension of  tacts,  as  shown  by  official  documents. 

(4)  At  this  confereuoe,  Sailing-Master  Loomis  informed  Colonel  Clinch  that,  on  the  day 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  41 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-seventh,  Loomis,  with  his  boats, 
ascended  the  river  and  cast  anchor  opposite  the  fort,  while  Colonel 
Clinch  and  the  Creek  Indians  took  positions  so  as  to  cut  off  retreat 
hy  land.  The  cannonade  was  resumed,  and  the  land  and  naval 
forces  of  the  United  States  were  engaged  in  throwing  shot  and 
shells  for  the  purpose  of  murdering  those  friendless  Exiles,  those 
women  and  children,  who  had  committed  no  other  offense  than  that 
of  having  been  born  of  parents  who,  a  century  previously,  had 
been  held  in  bondage.  Mothers  and  children  now  shrieked  with 
terror  as  the  roar  of  cannon,  the  whistling  of  balls,  the  explosion 
of  shells,  the  war-whoops  of  the  savages,  the  groans  of  the  wounded 
and  dying,  foretold  the  sad  fate  which  awaited  them.  The  stout- 
hearted old  men  cheered  and  encouraged  their  friends,  declaring 
that  death  was  to  bo  preferred  to  slavery. 

The  struggle,  however,  was  not  protracted.  The  cannon  balls 
not  taking  effect  upon  the  embankments  of  earth,  they  prepared 
their  furnaces  and  commenced  the  fire  of  hot  shot,  directed  at  the 
principal  magazine.  This  mode  proved  more  successful.  A  ball, 
fully  heated,  reached  the  powder  in  the  magazine.  The  small  size 
of  the  fort,  and  the  great  number  of  people  in  it,  rendered  the 
explosion  unusually  fiital.  Many  were  entirely  buried  in  the  ruins, 
others  were  killed  by  falling  timbers,  while  many  bodies  were  torn 
in  pieces.  Limbs  were  separated  from  bodies  to  which  they  had 
been  attached,  and  death,  in  all  its  horrid  forms,  was  visible  within 
that  doomed  fortress.^ 

Of  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  souls  within  the  fort,  two  hun- 

previous,  while  a  party  of  his  men  were  on  shore,  they  were  fired  on  by  Indians  and  one 
man  killed.  This  was  the  first  and  only  act  of  hostility  against  oar  troops.  It  was  com- 
mitted by  Indians,  not  by  Exiles;  but  it  was  subsequently  seized  upon  and  published  as  a 
justification  for  carrying  out  General  Jackson's  oi-der,  bearing  date  more  than  two  months 
prior  to  the  occurrence,  directing  General  Gaines  to  destroy  the  fort  and  return  the  negroes 
to  slavery. 

(1)  Monette  says,  "The  scene  in  the  fort  wa:3  horrible  beyond  description.  Nearly  the 
whole  of  the  inmates  were  involved  in  indiscriminate  destruction ;  not  one-sixth  of  the  whole 
escaped.  The  cries  of  the  wounded,  the  groans  of  the  dying,  with  the  shouts  and  yells  of 
the  Indians,  rendered  the  scene  horrible  beyond  description.^^ 


42  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

dred  and  seventy  were  instantly  hilled ;  while  of  the  sixty  who 
remained,  only  three  escaped  without  injury.  ^  Two  of  the  survi- 
vors— one  negro  and  one  Indian — were  selected  as  supposed  chiefs 
of  the  allied  forces  within  the  fort.  They  were  delivered  over  to 
the  Indians  who  accompanied  Colonel  Clinch,  and  were  massacred 
within  the  fort,  in  the  presence  of  our  troops ;  ^  but  no  report  on 
record  shows  the  extent  of  torture  to  which  they  were  subjected. 

We  have  no  reliable  information  as  to  the  number  who  died  of 
their  wounds.  They  were  placed  on  buaid  the  gun-boats,  and  their 
wounds  were  dressed  by  the  surgeons ;  and  those  who  recovered 
were  afterwards  delivered  over  to  claimants  in  Georgia.  Those 
who  were  slightly  wounded,  but  able  to  travel,  were  taken  back 
with  Colonel  Clinch  to  Georgia  and  delivered  over  to  men  who 
claimed  to  have  descended  from  planters  who,  some  three  or  four 
generations  previously,  owned  the  ancestors  of  the  prisoners.  There 
could  be  no  proof  of  identity,  nor  was  there  any  court  authorized  to 
take  testimony,  or  enter  decree  in  such  case ;  but  they  were  deliv- 
ered over  upon  claim,  taken  to  the  interior,  and  sold  to  different 
planters.  There  they  mingled  with  that  mass  of  chattelized  human- 
ity which  characterizes  our  Southern  States,  and  were  swallowed  up 
in  that  tide  of  oppression  which  is  now  bearing  three  millions  of 
human  beings  to  untimely  graves. 

Sailing-Mastor  Loomis  informed  the  Naval  Department,  through 
Commodore  Patterson,  that  the  value  of  the  property  captured  in 
the  fort  was  "not  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars."  He 
also  stated  that  a  portion  of  this  property  was  "  delivered  over  by 
*'  Colonel  Clinch  to  the  Indians  who  had  accompanied  him,  on  the 
'*  express  agreement  that  they  should  share  in  the  plunder^'* 
Another  portion  of  property  was  held  by  Colonel  Clinch,  as  neces- 
sary for  the  use  of  the  troops.     A  list  of  the  articles  thus  taken  is 

(1)  Vide  Official  Report  of  Sailing-Master  Loomis,  Ex.  Doc.  119  :   2d  Se.'s.  XVth  Cong. 

(2)  Some  years  since,  the  author  wrote  a  short  sketch  of  the  general  ^las.sacre,  but  omitted 
this  point  as  too  revolting  to  the  feelings  of  humanity,  and  too  disgraceful  to  the  American 
arms,  to  be  laid  before  the  popular  mind  in  such  an  article ;  and  he  would  most  gladly 
have  omitted  it  in  this  work,  could  he  have  done  so  consistently  with  his  duty  to  the  public. 


THE    EXILES    OP    FLOIIIDA.  43 

given  in  the  report :  it  embraces  spades,  shovels,  pickaxes,  swords, 
sword-belts,  pistols  and  muskets.  The  remainder  of  the  prop- 
erty was  taken  on  board  the  gun-boats,  and  held  subject  to  the 
order  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.^ 

The  Governor  of  Florida  demanded,  in  the  name  of  '*  his  Most 
Christian  Majesty  the  king  of  Spain,"  possession  of  the  property 
thus  captured  in  the  fort ;  denying  the  right  of  either  our  army  or 
navy  to  invade  the  territory  of  Spain,  and  take  and  carry  away 
property  from  its  fortifications. 

To  this  claim  Sailing-Master  Loomis  replied,  that  the  property 
did  not  belong  to  the  Spanish  crown,  but  to  the  Exiles,  who  were 
in  possession  of  it,  from  whom  it  was  taken  by  conquest.  This 
correspondence  between  his  Excellency  the  Governor  of  Florida  and 
the  Commander  of  the  two  gun-boats,  was  duly  transmitted  to  our 
Government  at  Washington,  and  may  now  be  found  in  our  National 
Archives.^ 

Some  twenty-two  years  subsequent  to  the  capture  of  this  proper- 
ty, and  the  massacre  of  those  who  were  in  possession  of  it,  a  bill 
was  reported  in  the  House  of  Ilepresentatives,^  granting  five  thou- 
sand dollars  to  the  officers,  marines  and  sailors  who  constituted  the 
crews  of  those  gun-boats,  as  compensation  for  their  gallant  services. 
Whether  the  honorable  Chairman  of  the  Naval  Committee  who 
reported  the  bill,  or  any  member  of  the  House  who  voted  for  it, 
was  aware  of  the  true  character  of  tlwj  services  rendered,  is  a  matter 
of  doubt ;  but  the  bill  passed  without  opposition,  became  a  law,  and 
the  people  of  the  United  States  paid  that  bonus  for  the  perpetration 

(1)  Monette  says  that  three  thousand  stands  of  arms  and  six  hundred  barrels  of  powder 
were  destroyed  by  the  explosion.  This  is  probably  somewhat  of  an  exaggeration.  We 
have  no  fact  to  warrant  the  assertion,  that  there  was  any  addition  made  to  the  stores  left 
by  Col.  Nichols,  when  hu  delivered  the  fort  to  the  Exiles.  The  same  author  states,  that 
one  magazine,  containing  one  hundred  and  sixtj'  barrels  of  powder,  was  left  unharmed  by 
the  explosion  ;  but  no  mention  of  such  fact  is  found  in  the  Official  Report,  by  Sailing- 
Master  Loomis. 

(2)  Vide  Documents  before  the  Committee  of  Congress  appointed  to  investigate  the  cause 
of  General  Jackson's  invasion  of  Florida:  XVth  Congress,  2d  Session. 

(3)  This  bill  was  reported  by  Mr.  Ingham  of  Connecticut,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Naval  Affairs. 


44  THE   EXILES    OP   FLORIDA. 

of  one  of  the  darkest  crimes  which  stains  the  history  of  any  civil- 
ized nation.  1 

The  official  correspondence  connected  with  this  massacre  was 
called  for  by  resolution,  adopted  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  was  communicated  to  that  body  at  the  second  session  of  the 
fifteenth  Congress.  But  no  action  appears  to  have  been  proposed 
in  regard  to  it ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  public  attention  was  at  that 
time  particularly  called  to  this  most  wanton  sacrifice  of  human  life. 

In  this  massacre,  nearly  every  Exile  resident  upon  the  Appa- 
lachicola  River,  including  women  and  children,  perished  or  was 
reenslaved.  Their  homes  were  left  desolate ;  their  plantations,  and 
their  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  became  the  property  of  those  who 
first  obtained  possession  of  them.  Probably  one- third  of  all  the 
Exiles  at  that  time  resident  in  Florida,  perished  in  this  massacre, 
or  were  reenslaved  by  Colonel  Clinch ;  yet  the  atrocious  character 
of  the  transaction  appears  to  have  attracted  very  little  attention  at 
the  time.  General  Jackson  was  popular  as  a  military  officer,  and 
the  Administration  of  Mr.  Madison  was  regarded  with  general 
favor.  No  member  of  Congress  protested  against  the  transaction, 
or  made  known  its  barbarity  to  the  people  ;  while  the  ablest  mem- 
bers taxed  their  ingenuity,  and  brought  all  their  rhetoric  to  bear, 
in  vindication  of  those  concerned  in  the  outrage. ^ 

While  Mr.  Clay  and  others  severely  condemned  the  technical 
invasion  of  Florida,  as  an  act  of  hostility  toward  the  King  of  Spain, 
they  omitted  all  reference  to  this  wanton  massacre  of  the  Exiles : 
nor  have  we  been  able  to  learn  that  any  member  even  intimated 
that  the  bloody  Seminole  war  of  1816-17  and  18,  arose  from  efforts 
of  our  Government  to  sustain  the  interests  of  Slavery ;  or  that 
our  troops  were  employed  to  murder  women  and  children  because 
their  ancestors  had  once  been  held  in  bondage,  and  to  seize  and 

(1)  Vide  Statutes  enacted  at  2d  Session,  XXVIth  Congress.  The  author  was  then  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  but  had  not  learned  to  watch  the  movements  of 
slaveholders  and  "  their  allies,"  so  closely  as  subseiiuent  experience  taught  him  would  be 
useful. 

(2)  Vido  Speeches  of  Hon.  George  Poindexter  and  others  on  the  Seminole  War,  in  1819. 


THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  45 

carry  back  to  toil  and  suffering  those  who  escaped  death  in  that 
barbarous  massacre.  The  ofl&cers  of  Government,  and  historians 
of  that  day,  appear  to  have  avoided  all  reference  to  the  fact, 
that  the  people  thus  murdered  had  been  far  longer  in  the  wilder 
ness  than  were  the  children  of  Israel ;  that  they  were  contending 
for  that  Liberty  which  is  the  rightful  inheritance  of  every  human 
being.  Indeed,  more  than  twenty  years  elapsed  after  this  massacre, 
before  a  distinguished  Philanthropist  gave  to  the  public  the  first 
intimation  that  such  a  people  as  the  Exiles  had  existed.^ 

(1)  Hon.  William  Jay,  of  New  York,  published  his  Views  of  the  action  of  the  Federal 
Government  in  1837. 


CHAPTER   lY. 

GENERAL  HOSTILITIES. 

The  Troops  along  the  Florida  frontier  become  active  — The  Exiles  on   Suwanee  and 
Withlacoochee   prepare  for  War  —  General  Gaines's  representation  of  their  numbers 

—  Depredations  committed  during  the  Spring  and  Summer  of  1817  —  Massacre  of 
Lieutenant  Scott  and  his  party  —  Its  Effect  upon  the  Country  —  Congress  not  con- 
sulted as  to  this  War  —  General  Gaines  authorized  to  invade  Florida  —  General  Jacksoa 
ordered  to  the  Field  —  Mr.  Monroe  assumes  the  Duties  of  President  —  His  Cabinet  — 
Character  of  Congress  —  Public  Sentiment  in  regard  to  discussion  of  Subjects  connected 
with  Slavery  —  General  Jackson  concentrates  his  Army  at  Fort  Scott  —  Proceeds  to 
Mickasukie  — Battle  — Destruction  of  the  Town  —  Marches  to  St.  Marks  — Indian  Chiefs 
decoyed  on  board  a  Vessel  —  Hanged  by  order  of  General  Jack.«on  —  The  .(\rmy  movea 
upon  Suwanee  —  Its  Situation  —  Exiles  prep.are  for  a  decisive  Battle  —  Severe  Conflict 

—  GeneralJackson  takes  the  Town  —  Captures  Indian  Women  and  Children  —  Burns 
the  Villages  of  that  region  -  Returns  to  Pensacola  —  Capture  and  Trial  of  Arbuthnot 
and  Ambrister  —  Their  Execution  —  luvsision  of  Florida  condemned  by  some  of  our 
Statesmen,  and  vindicated  by  others. 

The  nation  having  been  precipitated  into  war  (1816),  the 
Officers  of  Government,  and  the  army,  at  once  became  active  in 
carrying  it  on.  Orders  were  sent  to  General  Gaines,  exhorting 
him  to  vigilance,  caution  and  promptitude.  He  was  on  the  south- 
em  frontier  of  Georgia,  where  it  was  naturally  supposed  the  first 
blow,  in  retaliation  for  the  massacre  of  Blount's  Fort,  would  fall. 
His  scouts  were  constantly  on  the  alert,  his  outposts  strengthened, 
and  his  troops  kept  in  readiness  for  action. 

The  Seminole  Indians  had  lost  some  thirty  men,  who  had  inter- 
married with  the  Exiles,  and  were  in  the  fort  at  the  time  of  the 
massacre.  They  entertain  the  opinion  that  the  souls  of  their  mur- 
dered friends  are  never  at  rest  while  their  blood  remains  unavenged; 

(46) 


THE    EXILES    OP    FLORIDA.  47 

nor  could  it  be  supposed  that  the  Exiles  would  feel  no  desire  to 
visit  retributive  justice  upon  the  murderers  of  their  friends.  Long 
did  this  desire  continue,  in  the  minds  of  the  surviving  Exiles, 
until,  many  years  subsequently,  their  vengeance  was  satiated,  their 
hands  were  stained,  and  their  garments  saturated,  in  the  blood  of 
our  troops. 

The  surviving  Exiles  had  their  principal  remaining  settlements 
upon  the  Suwauee  and  Withlacoochee  rivers,  and  in  the  Mickasukie 
towns.  These  settlements  were  on  fertile  lands,  and  were  now 
relied  upon  to  furnish  provisions  for  their  support  during  hostilities. 
Savages  are  usually  impetuous ;  but  the  Exiles  were  more  deliberate. 
Colonel  Clinch  had  returned  to  Georgia ;  Sailing-Master  Loomis 
was  at  Mobile  Bay,  and  no  ch'cumstances  demanded  immediate 
action.  They  gathered  their  crops,  obtained  arms  and  ammunition 
from  British  and  Spanish  merchants,  and  made  every  preparation 
for  hostilities.  During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1816,  Gen- 
eral Gaines  reported  slight  depredations  on  the  frontiers  of  Georgia, 
but  in  February,  1817,  he  reported  that  larger  bodies  of  Indians 
were  collecting  in  some  of  their  villages ;  and  in  one  of  his  letters 
he  stated  that  seven  hundred  negroes  were  collected  at  Suwanee, 
and  were  being  daily  drilled  to  the  use  of  arms.  This  number  of 
fighting  men  would  indicate  a  larger  population  of  Exiles  than  is 
warranted  by  subsequent  information. 

101TT  During  the  Spring  and  Summer,  both  parties  were 
lolT.J     .  .  _ 

m    a   state    of   preparation  —  of   const<ant    readiness   for 

war.      A  few    predatory    excursions   to  the  frontier    settlements, 

marked  the  action  of  the  Indians   and  Exiles,  while  the    army, 

under  General  Gaines,  often  sent  parties  into  the  Indian  country, 

without  any  important  incident  or  effect.     The  first  effective  blow 

was  struck  in  November.     A  boat  was  ascending  the  Appalachicola 

river,  with  supplies  for  Fort  Scott,  under  the  escort  of  a  Lieutenant 

and  forty  men,  in  company  with  a  number  of  women  and  children. 

Information  of  this  fact  was  communicated  to  the  Exiles  and  Indians 

resident  at  Mickasukie,  and  a  band  of  warriors  at  once  hastened  to 


48  THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

intercept  them.  They  succeeded  in  drawing  them  into  ambush,  a 
few  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Flint  Kiver,  and  the  Lieutenant,  and 
all  his  men  but  six,  and  all  the  children,  and  all  the  women  but 
one,  were  massacred  on  the  spot.  Six  soldiers  escaped,  and  one 
woman  was  spared  and  taken  to  Suwanee  as  a  prisoner.  Here  she 
was  kept  by  the  Exiles  through  the  winter,  and  treated  with  great 
kindness,  residing  in  their  families  and  sharing  their  hospitality. 
She  had  thus  an  opportunity  of  learning  their  condition,  and  the 
state  of  civilization  to  which  they  had  attained,  as  well  as  their 
desire  to  be  at  peace  with  mankind,  in  order  to  enjoy  their  own 
rights  and  liberties. 

This  massacre  was  regarded  by  the  countiy  as  a  most  barbarous 
and  wanton  sacrifice  of  human  life.  The  newspapers  blazoned  it 
forth  as  an  exhibition  of  savage  barbarity.  The  deep  indignation 
of  the  people  was  invoked  against  the  Seminoles,  who  were  repre- 
sented as  alone  responsible  for  the  murder  of  Lieutenant  Scott, 
and  his  men.  Probably  nine-tenths  of  the  Editors,  thus  assailing 
the  Seminoles,  were  not  aware  of  the  atrocious  sacrifice  of  human 
life  at  "Blount's  Fort,"  in  July  of  the  previous  year.  Even  the 
1  Qi  8  T  •P^'^s^^^"^  ^^  ^^^^  United  States,  in  his  Message  (March 
25),  relating  to  these  hostile  movements  of  the  Seminoles, 
during  the  previous  year,  declared  ''The  hostilities  of  this  Tribe 
were  unprovoked, ^^  as  though  the  record  of  the  massacre  at 
"Blount's  Fort"  had  been  erased  from  the  records  of  the  moral 
Universe.  Notwithstanding  our  army  had,  in  a  time  of  profound 
peace,  invaded  the  Spanish  Territory,  marched  sixty  miles  into  its 
interior,  opened  a  cannonade  upon  "Blount's  Fort,"  blown  it  up, 
with  an  unprecedented  massacre,  in  which  both  Seminole  Indians 
and  negroes  were  slain,  and  two  of  their  principal  men  given  over 
to  barbarous  torture ;  yet,  the  President,  in  his  Message,  as  if  to 
falsify  the  history  of  current  events,  declared  that  "  as  almost  the 
"  whole  of  this  Tribe  inhabit  the  country  within  the  limits  of 
"  Florida,  Spain  was  bound,  by  the  Treaty  of  1795,  to  restrain 
"them  from  committing  depredations  against  the  United  States." 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  49 

Such  were  the  efforts  made  to  misrepresent  facts,  in  relation  to  the 
first  Seminole  War.  With  its  commencement,  the  people  had 
nothing  to  do ;  they  were  not  consulted,  nor  were  their  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress  permitted  to  exercise  any  influence  over  the 
subject.  The  correspondence  between  General  Gaines  and  the 
Secretary  of  War,  in  regard  to  the  occupation  of  the  fort  by  the 
Exiles,  had  commenced  on  the  fourteenth  of  May,  1815.  It  was 
continued  while  Congress  was  in  session,  in  1815  and  1816,  but 
no  facts  in  regard  to  the  plan  of  destroying  it,  and  entering  upon  a 
war,  for  the  purpose  of  murdering  or  enslaving  the  Exiles,  had 
been  conmiunicated  to  Congress  or  the  public. 

Orders  were  now  issued  to  General  Gaines,  authorizing  him  to 
carry  the  war  into  Florida,  for  the  purpose  of  punishing  the  Sem- 
inoles.  General  Jackson  was  ordered  to  take  the  field,  in 
person,  with  power  to  call  on  the  States  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia 
for  such  militia  as  he  might  deem  necessary,  for  the  due  prosecu- 
tion of  the  war ;  and  the  most  formidable  arrangements  were  made 
for  carrying  on  hostilities  upon  a  large  scale. 

Mr.  Monroe  had  assumed  the  duties  of  President  in  March, 
1817.  He  had  appointed  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  Secretary 
of  State,  at  the  commencement  of  his  administration;  but  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  War  was  not  filled  by  a  permanent  appoint- 
ment, for  some  months,  in  consequence  of  Governor  Shelby^s 
refusal  to  accept  it,  on  account  of  his  advanced  age.  It  was 
finally  conferred  on  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  who,  through  his  entire 
official  life,  was  distinguished  for  his  devotion  to  the  institution  of 
Slavery ;  and  this  war  having  been  entered  upon  for  the  support 
of  that  institution,  it  may  well  be  supposed  that  he  exerted  his 
utmost  energies  for  its  vigorous  prosecution. 

The  fifteenth  Congress  assembled  in  December,  1817.  Most 
of  the  members  from  the  free  States  had  not  enjoyed  the  ad- 
vantages of  having  served  long  in  that  body.  They  afterwards 
showed  themselves  able  men  ;  but  the  business  of  legislation  re- 
quires experience,  industry,  and  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  past 
4 


60  THE   KXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

action  of  government.  This  cannot  be  obtained  in  one  session, 
nor  in  one  Congress ;  it  can  only  be  gathered  by  the  labors  of  an 
active  life.  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  Congress  granted 
to  the  War  Department  whatever  funds  the  President  required  to 
carry  on  the  war. 

It  is  not  our  province  to  applaud,  or  condemn,  public  men ;  but 
history  represents  no  member  of  the  fifteenth  Congress  as  having 
proclaimed  the  cause  of  this  war,  or  the  atrocious  massacre  which 
characterized  its  commencement.  On  the  contrary,  those  who  spoke 
on  the  subject,  represented  it  as  entirely  owing  to  the  Indian  murders 
on  the  frontiers  of  Georgia,  and  to  the  massacre  of  Lieutenant 
Scott  and  his  men.  There  was  great  delicacy  exhibited,  and  had 
been  for  many  years  previously,  in  regard  to  the  agitation  of  any 
question  touching  the  institution  of  Slavery ;  and  the  people  of 
the  free  and  slave  States  appeared  to  feel  that  silence  on  that 
subject  was  obligatory  upon  every  citizen  who  desired  a  continuance 
of  the  Union.  These  circumstances  rendered  it  easy  for  the  Ad- 
ministration to  prosecute  the  war,  with  whatever  force  they  deemed 
necessary  for  the  speedy  subjection  of  Indians  and  Exiles. 

On  entering  the  field  of  active  service.  General  Jackson  called 
on  the  State  of  Tennessee  for  two  thousand  troops.  He  repaired 
to  Harford,  on  the  Ockmulgee,  where  a  body  of  volunteers,  from 
Georgia,  had  already  assembled,  and  organizing  them,  he  requested 
the  aid  of  the  Creek  Indians  also.  They  readily  volunteered, 
under  the  command  of  their  chief,  Mcintosh,  ready  to  share  in 
the  honors  and  dangers  of  the  approaching  campaign.  With  the 
Georgia  volunteers  and  Creek  Indians,  General  Jackson  marched 
to  Fort  Scott,  where  he  was  joined  by  about  one  thousand  regular 
troops. 

With  this  force,  he  moved  upon  the  Mickasukie  towns,  situated 
near  the  Lake  of  that  name,  some  thirty  miles  south  of  the  line 
of  Georgia.  It  was  the  nearest  place  at  which  the  Exiles  had 
settled  in  considerable  numbers.  There  were  several  small  villages 
in  the  vicinity  of  this  Lake,  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  blacks. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  5t:h 

A  large  quantity  of  provisions  had  been  stored  there.  There  were 
also  several  Seminole  towns  between  Mickasukie  Lake  and  Talla- 
hasse,  on  the  west. 

The  Exiles  appear  to  have  viewed  the  approach  of  General 
Jackson  with  coolness  and  firmness.  They  had  evidently  calculated 
the  result  with  perfect  accuracy.  Their  women  and  children  were 
removed  to  places  of  safety,  and  their  herds  of  cattle  were  driven 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  invading  army ;  and  some  of  their  Indian 
allies  followed  the  example  thus  set  them  by  the  Exiles  ;  yet  others 
were  not  equally  careful  in  calculating  future  events. 

Neither  Indians  nor  negroes  had  made  these  towns  their  general 
rendezvous ;  nor  did  they  expect  a  decisive  battle  to  occur  at  that 
point ;  yet  they  prepared  to  meet  General  Jackson,  and  his  army, 
in  a  becoming  manner.  Most  of  their  forces  were  collected  prior 
to  the  arrival  of  our  troops.  In  making  the  requisite  dispositions 
for  battle,  the  Indians  were  formed  in  one  body,  and  the  negroes 
in  another  —  each  being  under  their  respective  chiefs. 

General  Jackson  encountered  the  allied  forces  at  some  little 
distance  from  the  Mickasukie  towns,  April  first.  The  battle  was 
of  short  duration.  The  Indians  soon  fled.  The  Exiles  fought 
with  greater  obstinacy.  Their  fire  was  so  fatal  that  a  reinforcement 
was  ordered  to  that  part  of  the  field,  and  the  Exiles  were  driven 
from  their  position,  leaving  twelve  of  their  number  dead  upon 
the   field. 

In  his  official  report  of  this  battle,  General  Jackson  insisted 
that  British  officers  had  drilled  the  negroes,  and  British  traders 
had  furnished  them  ammunition.  He  also  reported  that  he  burned 
more  than  three  hundred  dwellings,  and  obtained  a  supply  of 
provisions  and  cattle  for  his  army. 

The  Exiles,  generally,  retreated  to  Suwanee,  and  the  Indians 
continued  to  hang  around  the  American  army,  watching  its  move- 
ments. General  Jackson,  however,  directed  his  course  towards 
St.  Marks,  a  Spanish  fort,  situated  on  the  river  of  that  name, 
some  fifty  miles  southwest  of  Mickasukie  Lake. 


52  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

The  American  army  reached  St.  Marks  on  the  seventh  of  April, 
and  remained  there  several  days.  One  of  the  American  vessels 
lying  in  Appalachicola  Bay,  hoisted  British  colors,  in  order  to  decoy 
some  Indians  who  were  looking  at  them  from  the  shore.  Two  of 
the  "Red  Stick"  band  ventured  on  board  ;  they  were  said  to  be 
chiefs,  and  in  alliance  with  the  Seminoles.  General  Jackson 
ordered  them  to  be  hanged,  without  trial  or  ceremony,  justifying 
the  act  by  charging  them  with  having  participated  in  the  massacre 
of  Lieutenant  Scott  and  his  party,  during  the  previous  autumn, 
apparently  unconscious  that,  by  his  own  orders,  two  hundred  and 
seventy  people,  including  innocent  children  and  women,  had  been 
most  wantonly  and  barbarously  murdered  at  the  fort  on  Appa- 
lachicola, and  that  Lieutenant  Scott  and  thirty  men  were  murdered 
in  retaliation  for  that  act,  according  to  savage  warfare.  He  appears 
to  have  felt  it  due  to  offended  justice,  that  these  men  should  die 
for  being  suspected  of  participating  in  that  act  of  retaliation.  In 
all  these  cases,  the  most  assiduous  efforts  were  exerted  to  misrep- 
resent the  real  state  of  facts. 

The  time  occupied  in  the  approach  and  capture  of  Fort  St. 
Marks,  gave  to  the  Exiles  and  Indians  full  opportunity  to  concen- 
trate their  forces  at  Suwanee.  It  constituted  the  most  populous 
settlement  of  the  Exiles,  after  the  destruction  of  that  upon  the 
Appalachicola.  It  was  regarded  as  their  stronghold.  Surrounded 
by  swamps,  it  was  approached  only  through  narrow  defiles,  which 
rendered  it  dijfficult  for  an  army  to  reach  it.  Here  many  of  the 
Exiles  had  been  born  and  reared  to  manhood.  Here  were  their 
homes,  their  firesides.  Here  their  chief,  Nero,  resided  ;  and  here 
they  concentrated  their  whole  force.  They  had  removed  their 
women  and  children,  their  provisions  and  cattle,  to  places  of  safety, 
and  coolly  awaited  the  approach  of  General  Jackson's  army.^ 

Scouting  parties  were,  however,  sent  out  to  harrass  his  advance 
guard,  and  delay  his  approach,  and  render  it  more  difficult;  but, 

(1)  Monetto  says  Arbuthnot  sent  word  to  the  Negroes  and  Indians,  notifying  them  of  the 
approach  of  General  Jackson  ;  but  the  official  report  of  that  Officer  sbows  that  his  ad-  ■ 
Vance  guard  was  daily  engaged  in  skirmishing  with  the  Indians. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  53 

notwithstanding  these  obstacles,  the  army  steadily  advanced,  and 
on  the  nineteenth  of  April  reached  the  **  Old  Town  "  of  "Suwanee," 
and  found  the  allied  forces  in  order  of  battle,  prepared  to  contest 
the  field.  The  Indians  were  again  formed  on  the  right,  and  the 
Exiles  constituted  the  left  wing,  bringing  them  in  conflict  with  the 
riorht  winor  of  General  Jackson's  forces. 

o  o 

With  the  Exiles,  there  was  no  alternative  other  than  war  or 
slavery ;  and  they  greatly  preferred  death  upon  the  battle  field,  to 
chains  and  the  scourge.  We  may  well  suppose  they  would  fight 
with  some  degree  of  desperation,  under  such  circumstances ;  and 
the  battle  of  Suwanee  gave  evidence  of  their  devotion  to  freedom. 
They  met  the  disciplined  troops,  who  constituted  General  Jackson's 
army,  with  firmness  and  gallantry.  ^  At  the  commencement,  their 
fire  was  so  fatal  that  the  right  wing  of  the  American  army  faltered, 
and  ceasing  to  advance,  gave  signs  of  falling  back.  But  the  left 
wing,  opposed  to  the  Indians,  made  a  successful  charge  ;  the  Indians 
gave  way,  and  the  reserve  was  suddenly  brought  into  action  to 
sustain  the  right  wing,  when  a  general  charge  was  ordered,  and  the 
Exiles  were  compelled  to  fall  back.^ 

General  Jackson,  in  his  official  report  of  this  battle,  refers  to 
the  desperation  with  which  the  negroes  fought,  and  says  they  left 
many  dead  upon  the  field,  but  does  not  mention  their  number.  He 
entered  the  town  and  set  fire  to  the  buildings,  and  burned  all  the 
villages  in  the  vicinity.  lie  also  captured  some  three  hundred 
Indian  women  and  children,  while  those  belonging  to  the  Exiles 

(1)  Vide  General  Jackson's  Official  Report  of  this  battle,  Ex.  Doc.  175,  2d  Session  XVth 
Congress. 

(2)  Williams,  in  his  History  of  Florida,  states  that  three  hundred  and  forty  Negroes  again 
rallied  after  the  first  retreat,  and  fought  their  pursuers,  until  eiglity  of  their  number,  were 
killed  on  the  field.  "  Monette  "  also  states  the  same  fact ;  but  General  Jackson,  in  all  his 
Reports,  evidently  avoided,  as  far  as  possible^  any  notice  of  the  Exiles,  as  a  people.  Indeed 
such  was  the  policy  of  the  Administration,  and  of  its  officers,  and  of  all  slaveholders. 
They  then  supposed,  as  thej-  now  do,  that  slavery  must  depend  upon  the  supposed  igno- 
rance and  stupidity  of  the  colored  people  ;  and  scarcely  an  instance  can  be  found,  where 
a  slaveholder  admits  the  slave  to  possess  human  intelligence  or  human  feeling ;  indeed, 
to  teach  a  slave  to  read  the  Scriptures,  is  regarded  as  an  offense,  in  nearly  every  slave 
State,  and  punishable  by  fine  and  Imprisonment. 


■m 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


bad  been  carefully  removed  beyond  the  reach  of  the  American 
army.  This  superior  caution  and  provident  care  appears  to  mark 
the  character  of  the  Exiles  in  all  their  conduct ;  while  the  Indians 
appear  to  have  practised  none  of  these  precautions. 

But  the  allied  forces,  defeated,  and  their  warriors  scattered  in 
various  directions,  were  pursued  by  Mcintosh  and  his  Creek  war- 
riors, who  had  accompanied  General  Jackson,  until  fearing  the 
Scminoles  might  rally  in  force  against  them,  they  returned  and 
again  united  with  the  American  army. 

This  battle  substantially  closed  the  war  of  1818.  It  had  been 
commenced  for  the  destruction  of  the  Exiles ;  they  had  shared  in 
its  dangers,  and  by  their  energy  and  boldness,  had  given  intensity 
to  its  conflicts.  From  the  time  they  united  in  the  expedition  for 
the  destruction  of  Lieutenant  Scott  and  his  party,  in  JSfovember, 
1817,  until  the  close  of  the  battle  of  Suwanee,  they  had  been 
active  participants  in  every  skirmish,  and  had  uniformly  displayed 
great  firmness ;  bearing  testimony  to  the  truth  of  those  historians 
who  have  awarded  to  the  African  race  the  merit  of  great  physical 
courage. 

General  Jackson  appears  to  have  spoken  as  little  of  the  Exiles 
as  duty  would  permit,  when  communicating  with  the  Secretary  of 
War ;  yet  he  was  more  free  to  complain  of  them  in  his  correspond- 
ence with  the  Governor  of  Pensacola.  In  a  letter  to  that  officer, 
dated  a  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Suwanee,  he  says  :  "  Negroes 
"  who  have  Jied  from  their  masters,  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
"  have  raised  the  tomahawk,  and,  in  the  character  of  savage  war- 
'■'  fare,  have  spared  neither  age  nor  sex.  Helpless  women  have 
"  been  massacred,  and  the  cradle  crimsoned  with  hlood.^^ 

We  can,  at  this  day,  scarcely  believe  that  this  eloquent  descrip- 
tion of  savage  barbarity  was  from  the  pen  of  a  man  whose  order  for 
the  massacre  of  defenseless  women  and  children,  at  the  Fort  on 
Appalachicola,  bore  date  less  than  two  years  before  writing  this 
letter ;  nor  can  we  readily  comprehend  the  effrontery  of  him  who 
thus  attempted  to  justify  the  invasion  of  Florida,  by  reference  to 


THE   EXILES    OP    FLORIDA.  55 

acts  done  by  the  Exiles  long  after  the  army  under  his  command 
had  entered  that  territory,  and  committed  the  most  atrocious  out- 
rages ever  perpetrated  by  civilized  men  upon  an  unoffending  people. 

After  the  battle  of  Suwanee,  General  Jackson  returned  to  St. 
Marks,  being  unable  to  follow  the  Indians  and  Exiles  into  the  more 
southern  portions  of  Florida.  While  at  St.  Marks,  he  ordered  a 
court-martial,  constituting  General  Gaines  president,  in  order  to  try 
Arbuthnot  and  Ambrister.  The  history  of  their  trial  and  execution 
is  familiar  to  the  reader.  The  first  and  principal  charge  against 
Ambrister  was,  that  he  excited  the  negroes  and  Indians  to  commit 
murder  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States ;  the  second  charge 
was  for  supplying  them  with  arms.  On  these  charges  he  was  con- 
victed and  executed.  It  was  also  alleged,  that  he  was  present  at 
the  battle  of  Suwanee;  and  some  writers  say  he  commanded  the 
Exiles  on  that  occasion,  and  had  previously  taught  them  military 
discipline. 

In  May,  General  Jackson  issued  an  Address  to  his  troops,  de- 
claring the  war  at  an  end  ;  and  wrote  the  Executive,  asking  permis- 
sion to  retire  to  his  home  in  Nashville,  there  being  no  further  use 
for  his  services  in  the  field. 

The  Exiles  now  returned  to  their  homes.  They  had  full  leisure 
to  contemplate  their  situation.  Many  of  their  best  men  had  fallen. 
Nearly  the  entire  population  residing  upon  the  Appalachicola  River 
had  been  massacred.  Their  villages  at  Mickasukie  and  Suwanee 
had  been  burned ;  and  it  is  probable  that  nearly  one  half  of  their 
entire  population  had  been  sacrificed,  in  this  first  war  waged  by  the 
United  States  for  the  murder  and  recapture  of  fugitive  slaves. 

The  invasion  of  Florida  by  General  Jackson  was  condemned  by 
many  public  men,  and  was  approved  by  others  with  equal  ability. 
Even  the  then  Secretary  of  State,  John  Quincy  Adams,  in  his 
correspondence  with  Don  Onis,  the  Spanish  Minister,  defended  the 
invasion  with  great  ability.  But  in  the  discussions  of  this  subject, 
we  find  no  allusion  to  the  massacre  at  "  Blount's  Fort;"i  that 

(1)  Various  names  have  been  given  this  Fort.    The  author,  having  heretofore  adopted 


66  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  subject  of  too  delicate  a  nature 
for  public  scrutiny.  In  the  alcoves  of  our  National  Library,  we 
find  many  volumes  of  documents  touching  this  war,  embracing  some 
thousands  of  pages,  in  which  there  is  the  strongest  censure  express- 
ed against  the  Seminoles  for  provoking  the  war,  and  condemnation 
for  the  barbarous  manner  in  which  they  conducted  it ;  but  we 
search  them  in  vain  to  find  any  condemnation,  by  American  states- 
men, of  the  object  for  which  the  war  was  commenced,  or  the  un- 
provoked and  worse  than  savage  massacre  which  marked  its 
beginning. 

that  of  "  Blount's  Fort,"  prefers  to  continue  that  name.  It  was  equally  known,  however, 
as  the  "Negro  Fort,"  and  aa  "Fort  Nichols." 


C  H  A  P  T  E  R    V . 

FURTHER  EFFORTS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  TO  RESTORE  EXILES  TO 
SERVITUDE. 

Effects  of  the  War  —  Situation  of  the  Exiles  —  Servility  of  Northern  Statesmen  —  Deter- 
mination of  Southern  Slaveholders  —  The  purchase  of  Florida  demanded  —  Causes  which 
led  to  it  —  Territory  obtained  —  Authorities  of  Georgia  demand  a  new  Treaty  with  Creeks 
—  Mr.  Calhoun  Secretary  of  War  —  His  efiForts  in  favor  of  the  Claimants  —  Georgia  ap- 
points Commissioners  —  They  attempt  to  dictate  those  appointed  by  the  United  States  — 
Correspondence  —  Mr.  Calhoun  dissatisfied  with  those  whom  he  had  appointed  —  They 
resign  —  New  Commissioners  appointed  — Tlieir  relation  to  the  subject  —  Difficulties — 
Indian  Talks  —  Treaty  effected  —  Agreement  —  Assignment  of  Fugitive  Slaves  to  United 
States  in  trust  for  the  Creek  Indians  — Claims  adjudicated  —  Slaveholders  claim  the 
funds  belonging  to  the  Creek  Indians. 

The  first  Seminole  war,  like  most  other  wars,  was  attended  with 
great  sacrifice  of  blood  and  treasure.  It  had  corrupted  the  morals 
of  the  nation ;  but  the  Administration  had  entirely  failed  to  attain 
the  objects  for  which  it  had  been  commenced.  Not  ten  slaves  had 
been  captured,  if  we  except  those  who  were  wounded  and  taken 
prisoners  at  "Blount's  Fort,"  one  half  of  whom  had  died  of  their 
wounds.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  Government  could  not, 
with  propriety,  condescend  to  make  a  treaty  with  a  community  of 
black  men,  whose  ancestors  had  fled  from  slavery.  Such  act  would, 
in  the  opinion  of  slaveholders,  have  compromised  the  dignity  of  the 
Slaveholding  States;  nor  could  they  treat  with  the  Seminole  Indians 
as  a  separate  tribe,  for  the  Administration  was  endeavoring  to  hold 
the  Creeks  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  Seminoles,  who,  the  slave- 
holders insisted,  were  a  part  of  the  Creek  tribe.  The  army  was 
therefore  withdrawn  from  Florida,  without  any  treaty  whatever. 
But  the  act  of  withdrawing  the  army  and  permitting  the  Exiles  to 

(57) 


58 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 


remain  in  a  state  of  freedom  and  independence,  constituted  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  inability  of  our  Government  to  reenslave  them, 
although  it  was  constantly  asserted  that  they  were  a  degraded  race, 
incapable  of  supporting  themselves  if  set  at  liberty. 

In  looking  over  the  official  reports  of  our  officers,  the  action  of 
Congress,  and  the  tone  of  the  public  press,  we  are  forcibly  impress- 
ed with  the  constant  and  unceasing  efforts  to  hide  from  the  popular 
mind  of  the  nation  the  real  questions  involved  in  this  war.  Nor 
can  we  account  for  it  upon  any  other  hypothesis,  than  the  popularity 
of  President  Monroe's  Administration.  The  old  Federal  party 
had  ceased  to  exist.  They  had  been  the  only  party  opposed  to  Mr. 
Monroe ;  and  no  member  of  Congress  appears  to  have  possessed 
the  requisite  independence,  information  and  ability,  to  take  a  posi- 
tion distinctly  against  his  policy. 

Soon  as  our  army  was  withdrawn  from  Florida,  peace  was  of 
course  restored,  and  things  remained  as  they  were  prior  to  the 
invasion  under  Colonel  Clinch,  in  1816.  The  Exiles  were  again  left 
in  peace,  as  they  had  been  prior  to  the  commencement  of  the  war. 
Nothing  had  been  gained  to  the  United  States  by  the  vast  ex- 
penditure of  blood  and  treasure  which  attended  the  prosecution  of 
hostilities.  The  Exiles  had  maintained  their  liberty  for  at  least 
a  century,  and  now  they  had  set  the  American  Government  at 
defiance.  These  considerations  operated  upon  the  minds  of  the 
slave  population  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  who  now  became  more 
anxious  to  join  them  ;  and  their  numbers  were  thus  increased  almost 
daily  by  slaves  from  those  States. 

From  1790,  our  Government  had  endeavored  to  reenslave  these 
people.  No  Northern  statesmen  objected  to  the  policy;  while  those 
of  the  South  had  come  to  believe  that,  although  the  Union  may  not 
have  been  formed  solely  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  slaves,  yet 
that  duty  was  regarded  by  them  as  one  of  its  most  important  objects. 
It  had  now  become  evident  that  no  military  force  could  pursue  them 
into  their  retired  fastnesses,  or  seek  them  out  when  scattered  among 
the  hommocks,  the  swamps  and  everglades  of  that  singular  country. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA-  ^OV 

Southern  statesmen  now  turned  their  attention  to  the  purchase 
of  Florida.  That  would  deprive  the  Indians  and  Exiles  of  the 
nominal  protection  of  Spanish  laws,  and  would  bring  them  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States;  they  therefore  addressed  them- 
selves to  that  policy  with  renewed  assiduity.  Recent  events  had 
convinced  the  authorities  of  Spain  that  it  was  impossible  for  them 
to  maintain  the  dignity  of  the  Spanish  crown,  or  the  sanctity  of  her 
soil  from  invasion  against  an  American  army,  when  in  pursuit  of 
fugitive  slaves.  She  had  seen  her  territory  invaded  ;  her  forts  at 
Pensacola  and  at  St.  Marks  captured,  and  that  upon  the  Appalachi- 
cola  destroyed  ;  her  subjects  massacred ;  her  authority  despised,  and 
her  rights  as  a  nation  treated  with  indignity  by  our  army.  There 
was,  indeed,  no  other  way  for  her  but  to  accede  to  the  proposition 
of  the  United  States. 

A  treaty  was  negotiated  (February  22),  and  in  consid- 
oration  of  five  millions  of  dollars,  Florida  was  transferred 
to  the  United  States,  and  the   Seminoles  were  brought  within  the 
jurisdiction  which  they  most  dreaded. 

The  slaveholders  of  Georgia,  who  had  so  long  pressed  their 
claims  for  fugitive  slaves,  now  became  more  clamorous.  They  saw, 
with  intense  interest,  the  pertinacity  with  which  the  Executive  had 
pressed  the  claims  of  those  who  lost  slaves,  in  the  then  recent  war 
with  England.  Under  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  the  President  insisted 
upon  full  indemnity  to  those  whose  slaves  had  left  the  country, 
under  British  aid ;  and  when  the  English  ministry  refused,  and 
insisted  upon  the  same  construction  as  that  placed  upon  the  treaty 
of  1783,  which  contained  the  same  words,  the  American  Executive 
refused,  and  the  question  was  referred  to  the  umpirage  of  the 
Autocrat  of  Russia,  who  held  an  entire  nation  in  slavery,  and  could 
not  be  expected  to  decide  in  any  other  manner,  than  that  most 
favorable  to  the  institution. ^ 

(1)  The  people  of  the  free  States  should  understand,  that  almost  every  question 
touchmg  slavery  which  has  arisen  between  our  Government  and  that  of  England,  the 
latter  has  yielded,  since  the  formation  of  Jay'a  Treaty  in  1795. 

The  payment  for  slaves  who  were  shipwrecked  on  board  the  Comet,  the  Encomium,  and 


'90  THE    EXILES    OP    FLORIDA. 

^  The  influence  of  the  slave  power  having  increased  so 

greatly  since  1796,  as  to  induce  the  British  Government  to 
change  its  policy,  adopted  at  the  framing  of  Jay's  Treaty,  was 
now  believed  competent  to  compel  the  Creek  Indians  to  comply 
with  the  treaties  of  New  Y'ork  and  Colerain.  A  quarter  of  a 
century  had  passed,  since  the  signing  of  the  last  of  these  treaties, 
and  they  had  been  forgotten  by  many ;  but  the  people  of  the  free 
States,  and  their  Representatives  and  Senators  in  Congress,  had 
quietly  submitted  to  this  prostitution  of  our  national  character  and 
influence,  and  none  appeared  to  doubt  the  propriety  of  continuing 
these  efforts. 

Georgia  now  demanded  of  the  Federal  Government  a 
new  treaty  with  the  Creek  Indians,^  in  order  to  obtain 
from  them  indemnity  for  the  slaves  she  had  lost,  subsequent  to  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  and  prior  to  the  act  of  1802.  To  this 
demand  the  Federal  Executive  assented.  The  Secretary  of  War, 
Mr.  Calhoun,  with  his  attachment  to  the  institution,  could  do  no 
less  than  to  exert  what  influence  he  was  able  to  wield,  in  assisting 
Georgia  to  obtain  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  her  slaves.  On 
him  devolved  the  burthen  of  selecting  commissioners  to  negotiate 
the  contemplated  treaty.  Careful  to  place  the  subject  in  the  hands 
of  men  who  would  be  likely  to  wield  their  power  for  the  benefit  of 
the  *'  peculiar  institution,"  he  appointed  General  Andrew  Pickens 

the  Enterprise,  and  found  freedom  by  being  landed  on  British  soil,  constitute  rare  instances 
in  which  slaveholding  arrogance  has  proved  successful  in  the  arts  of  diplomacy.  The 
case  of  the  Creole  constitutes  another  admirable  illustration  of  successful  effrontery. 
In  this  case,  the  slaves  took  possession  of  the  ship,  guided  it  to  Nassau,  a  British  Island, 
went  on  shore  and  became  free.  The  officers  of  the  slave  ship  demanded  that  the  British 
authorities  should  seize  the  negroes,  and  return  them  to  the  ship.  They  refused.  Daniel 
Webster,  Secretary  of  State,  became  the  voluntary  Agent,  Attorney  and  Solicitor,  for  the 
slave  dealers,  who  should  have  been  hanged,  instead  of  receiving  the  encouragement  of 
our  Government.  But  the  subject  was  submitted  to  the  umpirage  of  a  man,  said  to  have 
once  lived  in  Boston,  who,  principally  upon  the  authority  of  Mr.  Webster,  decided  that 
the  people  of  the  British  government  should  pay  the  slave  dealers  for  these  parents  and 
children  ;  and  after  fifteen  years  of  continued  effort,  the  money  was  obtained. 

(1)  Vide  Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  Messrs.  Pickens  and  Flournoy,  August 
B,  1820.    Am.  State  Papers,  Vol.  VI,  p.  249. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  -  61 

of  his  own  State,  and  General  Thomas  Flournoy  of  Georgia,  to 
conduct  the  negotiation. 

In  his  letters  of  instruction  to  those  gentlemen,  he  was  careful 
to  inform  them  that  the  treaty  was  to  be  negotiated  for  the  benefit 
of  Georgia  ;^  that  she  would  also  appoint  commissioners  to  attend 
the  negotiation,  and  watch  over  the  interests  of  her  people.  The 
commissioners  proceeded  to  make  arrangements  for  the  treaty. 
They  appointed  the  time  and  place  for  holding  it;  employed  an 
agent  to  furnish  the  requisite  supplies,  and  made  arrangements  for 
the  necessary  payments.  At  this  point  a  correspondence  arose 
between  them  and  the  commissioners  of  Georgia,  who  assumed  to 
dictate  the  terms  on  which  the  treaty  was  to  be  founded.  The 
commissioners  of  the  United  States,  finding  those  of  Georgia  in- 
clined to  dictate  the  course  of  action  which  they  were  to  pursue,  were 
unwilling  to  submit  to  such  dictation,  and  reported  the  difiiculty 
to  the  Secretary  of  War ;  while  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of 
Georgia,  feeling  perfect  confidence  in  the  devotion  of  that  ofiicer 
to  the  interests  of  slavery,  made  their  report  of  the  matter  to 
him  also. 2 

The  Secretary  returned  an  answer,  reproving  the  commissioners 
whom  he  had  himself  appointed,  so  severely  for  their  refusal  to 
obey  the  dictation  of  those  appointed  by  Georgia,  that  they  both 
immediately  resigned  their  offices,  appearing  to  feel  that  their  own 
self-respect  must  be  compromised  by  acting  under  the  instruction  of 
the  State  Commissioners.*^ 

Apparently  determined  to  appoint  no  man  who  should  again 
prove  refractory,  the  Executive  —  probably  at  the  instance  of  the 
Secretary  of  War  —  next  selected  as  commissioner,  in  the  place  of 
Mr.  Flournoy,  David  Meriwether,  who  had,  up  to  the  time  of  re- 
ceiving  the  appointment,  acted   as   commissioner  on   the  part  of 

(1)  Vide  Letter  of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  Gen.  Flournoy,  of  the  19th  of  October,  1820. 
Ibid,  250. 

(2)  Vide  Papers  transmitted  to  Congress,   in  connection  with   the  Treaty  of  "Indian 
Spring.'    Am.  State  Papers,  "  Indian  Affairs,"'  Vol.  I,  No.  174. 

(3)  Ibid.  4 


UZ  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

Georgia.  At  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  he  resigned  his 
oflBce  of  commissioner  on  behalf  of  the  State,  and  accepted  the 
appointment  from  the  Federal  Government.  Hon.  D.  M.  Forney, 
of  North  Carolina,  was  selected  as  the  other  commissioner,  in  place 
of  Mr.  Pickens.  These  commissioners  were  expressly  instructed  to 
assist  the  State  of  Georgia  in  obtaining  the  objects  for  which  she 
was  striving.^ 

These  prelirainaiy  arrangements  could  not  fail  to  foreshadow  the 
character  of  the  treaty  negotiated  under  such  auspices.  Anticipa- 
ting no  other  motive  for  the  treaty  than  the  settlement  of  the 
boundary  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Creeks,  the  chiefs, 
head-men  and  principal  warriors  of  the  tribe  assembled  at  the  time 
and  place  appointed.  After  the  ordinary  formalities  on  such  occa- 
sions, the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  opened 
the  business  by  simply  stating,  that  the  people  of  Georgia  complain- 
ed to  the  President  that  the  Creeks  had  not  returned  the  property 
(negroes,  cattle  and  horses),  which  they  were  under  obligations  to 
return  to  their  owners  in  Georgia,  by  the  treaties  of  New  York  and 
Colerain. 

The  commissioners  on  the  part  of  Georgia  now  delivered  their 
talk,  saying,  that  by  the  treaty  of  Augusta  (1783),  of  Galphinton 
(1785),  and  of  Shoulderbone  (1786),  the  Creeks  had  agreed  to 
return  to  their  owners,  negroes  who  had  left  their  masters,  and  other 
property ;  that  these  treaties  were  all  made  before  the  formation  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  under  their  present  Constitu- 
tion ;  but  they  were  ratified  by  the  treaty  of  New  York  (1790), 
and  of  Colerain  (1796),  made  with  the  United  States,  and  Georgia 
now  demanded  compensation  for  the  loss  of  her  negroes  and  other 
property. 

On  the  following  day.  General  Mcintosh,  principal  chief  of  the 
Creeks,  replied,  that  he  came  to  meet  the  commissioners  of  the 
United  States,  and  had  no  expectation  of  meeting  those  of  Georgia ; 
nor  had  he  or  his  friends  any  idea  that  such  claims  were  to  be  pre- 

(1)  Ibid.    Letter  of  Instructions  contained  In  the  papers  referred  to  on  preceding  page. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  63 

sented.  That  the  chief,  McGillivray,  when  he  returned,  after  the 
treaty  of  New  York,  informed  them  that  they  were  to  deliver  up 
such  negroes  as  were  then  in  the  nation  ;  that  they  were  to  pay  for 
none  who  had  removed  or  died ;  that  they  all  so  understood  that 
treaty,  and  that  nothing  was  then  said  about  any  other  claims  than 
for  negroes  ;  that  the  prisoners,  both  black  and  white,  were  deliv- 
ered up  under  the  treaty  of  New  York ;  that  the  claims  now  pre- 
sented were  also  presented  at  the  treaty  of  Colerain,  in  1796,  but 
the  Creeks  then  absolutely  refused  to  acknowledge  any  further 
obligation  than  that  contained  in  the  treaty  of  New  York,  and  by 
that  they  were  under  obligation  to  surrender  no  property  except 
persons  held  as  prisoners,  and  negroes  then  in  the  nation.  That 
many  of  these  negroes  were  carried  away  by  the  British,  during  the 
war  of  1812 ;  that  others  were  in  the  fort  at  Appalachicola,  when 
he  and  his  warriors  went  with  Colonel  Clinch  and  blew  it  up,  and 
killed  nearly  all  who  were  in  it ;  and  the  others  were  with  the 
Seminoles,  and  not  with  the  Creeks. 

To  this  answer  the  commissioners  of  Georgia  replied,  that  by  the 
treaties  of  Augusta,  and  Galphinton,  and  Shoulderbone,  the  Creeks 
were  bound  to  deliver  all  negroes  who  had  left  their  masters  in 
Georgia ;  that,  if  they  had  done  so,  the  British  would  not  have 
carried  them  off,  nor  would  they  have  been  killed  in  the  fort ;  that 
the  Seminoles  ivere  a  part  of  the  Creek  nation,  who  were  respon- 
sible, not  only  for  the  slaves  and  their  increase,  but  also  for  the  loss 
of  the  labor  which  they  would  have  performed  had  they  remained 
in  bondage. 

Of  the  means  used  to  obtain  the  treaty,  we  have  no  other 
information  than  appears  of  record.  Those  acquainted  with  the 
usual  modes  of  negotiating  Indian  treaties,  by  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  by  bribery,  and  those  appliances  generally  used  on 
such  occasions,  will  not  wonder  at  the  stipulations  contained  in  the 
Treaty  of  "Indian  Spring." 

By  the  first  article,  the  Creeks  ceded  to  the  United  States,  for 
the  benefit  of  Georgia,  about  five  million  acres  of  their  most  valuable 


64  THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

territory.  The  second  article  provided  for  the  reservation  of  certain 
lands,  to  be  retained  by  those  who  were  then  living  upon  them. 
The  third  reserved  certain  lands  for  the  use  of  the  United  States 
agency ;  and  the  fourth  is  in  the  following  words  : 

"It  is  hereby  stipulated  and  agreed,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
"  States,  as  a  consideration  for  the  land  ceded  b}'  the  Creek  nation, 
'*  by  the  first  article,  that  there  shall  be  paid  to  the  Creek  nation, 
"  by  the  United  States,  ten  thousand  dollars  in  hand,  the  receipt 
*'  whereof  is  hereby  acknowledged,  forty  thousand  dollars  as  soon 
"  as  practicable  after  the  ratification  of  this  convention,  five  thou- 
*'  sand  dollars  annually  for  two  years  thereafter,  sixteen  thousand 
*'  dollai-s  annually  for  five  years  thereafter,  and  ten  thousand  dollars 
**  annually  for  six  years  thereafter;  making  in  the  whole  fourteen 
"  payments,  in  fourteen  successive  years,  without  interest,  in  money 
*'  or  goods,  and  implements  of  husbandry,  at  the  option  of  the 
'  *  Creek  Nation,  seasonably  signified,  from  time  to  time,  through 
•'  the  agent  of  the  United  States  residino:  with  said  nation,  to 
"  the  Department  of  War.  And  as  a  further  consideration  for 
*'  said  cession,  the  United  States  do  hereby  agree  to  pay  to  the 
"  State  of  Georgia,  whatever  balance  may  be  found  due  by  the 
"  Creek  Nation  to  the  citizens  of  said  State,  whenever  the  same 
"  shall  be  ascertained,  in  conformity  with  the  reference  made  by 
"  the  commissioners  of  Georgia  and  the  chiefs,  head-men  and  war- 
•*  riors  of  the  Creek  Nation,  to  be  paid  in  five  annual  installments, 
'*  without  interest,  provided  the  same  shall  not  exceed  the  sum  of 
*'  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars ;  the  commissioners  of 
*'  Georgia  executing  to  the  Creek  Nation  a  full  and  final  relinquish- 
**  ment  of  all  the  claims  of  the  citizens  of  Georgia  against  the  Creek 
"  Nation,  for  property  taken  or  destroyed  prior  to  the  act  of  Con- 
*'  gross,  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  two,  regulating  the 
"  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes." 

The  fifth  article  merely  provides  for  running  the  boundaries  of 
the  several  reservations.  It  was  duly  signed  and  witnessed,  and 
bears  date  on  the  eighth  of  January,  1821. 


(iopnev  John,  Srm^.nolr'  Tnh'^'rpvet 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  65 

Deeming  the  treaty  not  sufficiently  explicit  in  its  terms,  the 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  entered  into  a  further  agree- 
ment with  the  Indians,  which  reads  as  follows : 

"  Whereas  at  a  conference,  opened  and  held  at  the  Indian 
"  Spring,  in  the  Creek  Nation,  the  citizens  of  Georgia,  by  the 
•'  aforesaid  commissioners,  have  represented  that  they  have  claims 
"to  a  large  amount  against  the  said  Creek  Nation  of  Indians: 
*'  Now,  in  order  to  adjust  and  bring  the  same  to  a  speedy  and  final 
'*  settlement,  it  is  hereby  agreed  by  the  aforesaid  commissioners,  and 
**  the  chiefs,  head-men  and  warriors  of  the  said  Nation,  that  all  the 
**  talks  had  upon  the  subject  of  these  claims,  at  this  place,  together 
**  with  all  claims  on  either  side,  of  whatever  nature  or  kind,  prior 
**  to  the  act  of  Congress  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  two, 
"  regulatino;  the  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes,  with  the  docu- 
"  ments  in  support  of  them,  shall  be  referred  to  the  decision  of  the 
*'  President  of  the  United  States,  by  him  to  be  decided  upon, 
*'  adjusted,  liquidated  and  settled,  in  such  manner  and  under  such 
"  rules,  regulations  and  restrictions  as  he  shall  prescribe :  Provided, 
*'  however,  if  it  should  meet  the  views  of  the  President  of  the  Uni- 
**  ted  States,  it  is  the  wish  of  the  contracting  parties,  that  the  liqui- 
*'  dation  and  settlement  of  the  aforesaid  claims  shall  be  made  in  the 
*'  State  of  Georgia,  at  such  place  as  he  may  deem  most  convenient 
*'  for  the  parties  interested  ;  and  the  decision  and  award  thus  made 
"  and  rendered,  shall  be  binding  and  obligatory  upon  the  contracfc- 
"  ing  parties." 

There  was  also  an  assignment  of  the  title,  or  right  of  property 
claimed,  executed  to  the  United  States  by  the  Commissioners  of 
Georgia,  which  is  in  the  following  language : 

*'  Whereas  a  treaty,  or  convention,  has  this  day  been  made  and 
"  entered  into,  by  and  between  the  United  States  and  the  Creek 
'•  Nation,  by  the  provisions  of  which  the  United  States  have  agreed 
*'  to  pay,  and  the  commissioners  of  the  State  of  Georgia  have 
"  agreed  to  accept,  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  the  State  of 
*'  Georgia  having  claims  against  the  Creek  Nation,  prior  to  the 


WJ  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA^ 

**  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  two,  the  sum  of  two  hun- 
**  dred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars : 

"  Now  know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  we,  the  undersigned, 
**  commissioners  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  for  and  in  consideration 
**  of  the  aforesaid  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
**  secured  by  the  said  treaty,  or  convention,  to  be  paid  to  the  State 
'*  of  Georgia,  for  the  discharge  of  all  bona  fide  and  liquidated 
**  claims  which  the  citizens  of  the  said  State  may  establish  against 
"  the  Creek  Nation,  do,  by  these  presents,  release,  exonerate  and 
"  discharge  the  said  Creek  Nation  from  all  and  every  claim  and 
•'  claims,  of  whatever  description,  nature  or  kind  the  same  may  be, 
*•  which  the  citizens  of  Georgia  now  have,  or  may  have  had,  prior 
"  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  two,  against  the  said 
**  Nation.  And  we  do  hereby  assign,  transfer  and  set  over  unto  the 
**  United  States,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  said  Creek  Nation, 
"  for  the  consideration  hereinbefore  expressed,  all  the  right,  title 
"  and  interest  of  the  citizens  of  the  said  State  to  all  claims,  debts, 
"damages,  and  property  of  every  description  and  denomination, 
'*  which  the  citizens  of  the  said  State  have  or  had,  prior  to  the  year 
"  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  two,  as  aforesaid,  against  the 
•'  said  Creek  Nation." 

It  were  useless  for  the  historian  to  criticise  the  language  of  these 
several  instruments.  The  "claims"  mentioned  in  them,  and  re- 
ferred to  the  President,  were  mostly  for  slaves  who  left  their 
masters  during  the  Revolution,  and  prior  to  1802;  at  least  such 
was  the  construction  given  to  the  treaty,  the  agreement  and 
assignment  by  the  parties ;  and  we  cannot,  at  this  day,  assert  that 
they  did  not  understand  their  own  compacts. 

The  Creeks  were  to  receive  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 
cash ;  and  the  United  States  agreed  to  pay  to  Georgia  her  claims, 
provided  they  did  not  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  amount  due  to  Georgia  was  to  be  ascertained  by  the 
President,  and  paid  by  the  United  States.  The  third,  and  a  very 
important  point,  was  the  assignment  to  the  United  States,  for  the 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  67 

benefit  of  the  Creek  Indians,  of  the  interest  vested  in  the  claimants 
to  the  property  and  persons  claimed  —  the  United  States  to  hold 
such  interest  in  trust  for  the  Creek  Indians. 

-By  this  arrangement,  our  Government  became  owners  of  the 
Exiles  referred  to,  in  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  Creeks,  according 
to  the  construction  which  the  Indians,  the  authorities  of  the  United 
States  and  those  of  Georgia,  placed  upon  the  assignment,  the 
agreement  and  treaty.  This  important  point,  if  borne  in  mind, 
will  aid  the  reader  in  understanding  the  subsequent  action  of  the 
Federal  authorities  in  relation  to  this  subject. 
1  Qoo  1  ^^  pursuance  of  this  treaty,  the  President  promptly 
appointed  a  commissioner  to  ascertain  the  amounts  due  the 
several  claimants.  But  great  difficulties,  had.  to  be  encountered. 
The  claims  commenced  in  1775  and  extended  down  to  1802,  and 
it  was  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  evidence  of  facts  which  trans- 
pired so  long  prior  to  the  examination.  Sufficient  proof  was  pro- 
duced, however,  to  satisfy  the  commissioner  that  ninety-two  slaves 
had,  within  the  periods  mentioned,  left  their  masters,  in  Georgia, 
and  fled  to  the  Indians  ;  and  the  estimated  value  of  slaves  and  other 
property  lost  to  the  owners  in  this  manner,  amounted  to  one  hun- 
dred and  nine  thousand  dollars.^ 

1 QOQ  1  ^^^^  amount  of  money  was  duly  appropriated  by  Con- 
gress. So  far  as  we  are  informed,  no  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  or  of  the  Senate,  appears  to  have  enter- 
tained doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  this  governmental  slave-dealing. 
The  whole  negotiation  and  arrangement  had  been  conducted  and 
managed  by  Southern  men,  and  Northern  statesmen  quietly  sub- 
mitted. Thus,  after  a  struggle  of  thirty-eight  years,  the  Slavehold- 
ers of  Georgia,  by  the  aid  of  our  Federal  Government,  obtained 
compensation  for  the  loss  of  their  fugitive  bondmen. 

(1)  Vide  Report  of  Commissioner  on  this  subject;  also,  the  Report  of  Wm.  Wirt,  Attor- 
ney General  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  the  President  referred  the  subject.  "  Opinions 
of  the  Attorney  General,"  1822.  Mr.  Wirt  states  the  price  paid  for  these  slaves  was  from 
two  to  three  times  their  real  value. 


68  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

After  the  distribution  of  the  amount  found  due  to  the  claimants, 
there  yet  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  President  one  hundred  and 
forty-one  thousand  dollars,  being  the  remainder  of  the  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  appropriated  by  the  treaty  to  secure  the  payment 
of  these  claims.  This  money  apparently  belonged  to  the  Indians, 
The  claimants  for  slaves  could  not  have  any  title  to  it,  for  they  had 
expressly  stipulated,  that  the  award  of  the  commissioner  should  be 
conclusive  upon  the  parties.  The  claimants,  by  that  award,  re- 
ceived full  compensation  for  their  loss ;  yet  they  next  demanded  of 
the  President  the  hundred  and  forty-one  thousand  dollars  which 
remained  in  his  hands.  Notwithstanding  the  commissioners  on  the 
part  of  Georgia  expressly  agreed  to  abide  by  the  award,  and  had 
assigned  all  interest  in  the  property  and  in  the  persons  residing 
with  the  Indians,  to  the  United  States,  and  had  received  their 
money  in  full,  under  the  treaty ;  yet  they  desired  to  get  the  re- 
mainder, which  was  considerably  larger  than  the  amount  awarded 
them  by  the  commissioner. 


CHAPTER     YI. 

FURTHER  EFFORTS  TO  ENSLAVE  THE  EXILES. 

Indians  and  Exiles  on  the  Appalachicola  River  —  Otlier  Exiles  at  Withlacoochee,  St. 
John's,  Cypress  Swamp,  Wahoo  Swamp  —  Indians  in  various  parts  of  Territory  — 
Difficulty  of  the  subject  —  President's  Message  —  Committee  of  Congress  —  Interroga- 
tions—  Mr.  Penieres'  Answer  —  General  Jackson's  Answer — He  relies  on  Force  — 
United  States  recognize  the  Florida  Indians  as  an  Independent  Band  —  Willing  to  treat 
with  them  —  Difficulties  —  Instructions  to  Commissioners  —  Treaty  of  Camp  Moultrie 

—  Reservations  —  Covenants  on  part  of  United  States  —  Covenants  on  part  of  the 
Seminoles  —  Congress  makes  no  objection  —  EfiFect  of  Treaty  —  Its  Objects  —  Election 
of  the  younger  Adams  —  His  Policy  —  Indian  Agent,  Colonel  Humphreys  —  William 
P.  Duval's  Instructions  —  Claimants  complain  of  the  Agent  —  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  reproves  him  —  His  Letter — Reply  —  Difficulty  of  Agent  —  Dangers  which 
threaten  the  Exiles  —  Colored  Man  seized  and  enslaved  —  Indians  Protest — Colonel 
Brooke's  Advice  —  United  States  Judge  expresses  his  Opinion — Effect  on  Exiles  — 
Mrs.  Cook's  Slave  —  Demand  for  Negroes  —  Suggestions  of  Agent — Practice  of  Gov- 
ernment—  Treaty  of  Payne's   Landing  —  Its    Stipulations — Abram — His   Character 

—  Chiefs  become  Suspicious  —  Delegations  sent  West  —  Executive  Designs  —  Supple- 
mental Treaty —  JLijor  Phagan —  Petition  of  the  People  of  Florida  —  Indorsement  thereon 

—  Treaties  approved  by  Senate  —  Creeks  remonstrate  —  Payment  of  $141,000  to  Slave 
Claimants  —  Supineiiess  of  Northern  Statesmen  —  Creeks  demand  Exiles  as  Slaves  — 
Georgians  kidnap  Exiles  —  Their  Danger  —  They  dissuade  from  Emigration  —  Their 
Warriors  —  Wiley  Thompson's  Statement  —  General  Clinch's  Interest  —  Colonel  Eaton's 
Views  —  General  Cass's  Reply  —  His  Address  to  Indians  — He  authorizes  Slave  Trade  — 
Effects  of  such  License  —  Agent  and  others  Remonstrate  — He  replies — Agent  ngoins  — 
Exiles  prepare  for  War. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  of  1818,  many  of  the  Seminole  Indi- 
ans took  possession  of  the  deserted  plantations  and  villages  along 
the  Appalachicola  River,  whose  owners  had  fallen  in  the  massacre 
of  Blount's  Fort,  in  1816;  and  some  of  the  Exiles  united  in  re- 
occupying  the  lands  which  had  been  reduced  to  cultivation  by  their 
murdered  brethren.  Some  six  or  eight  small  bands  of  Indians 
thus  became  resident  along  that  river.     The  fertile  bottom  lands, 


70  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

near  that  stream,  constituted  the  most  valuable  portion  of  Florida, 
so  far  as  agriculture  was  concerned.  These  towns  afforded  conven- 
ient resting  places  for  fugitive  slaves,  while  fleeing  from  their 
masters  in  Georgia,  Alabama,  Tennessee  and  Louisiana,  to  the 
interior  portions  of  Florida. 

The  United  States,  nor  the  slaveholders  of  the  States  named, 
could  with  any  propriety  whatever  hold  the  Creek  Indians  respon- 
sible for  the  many  refugees,  who  were  now  almost  daily  increasing 
the  number  of  fugitives  located  far  in  the  interior  of  Florida ;  and 
the  diflBculties  attending  the  holding  of  slaves  increased  in  exact 
proportion  as  the  slaveholding  settlements  extended  towards  these 
locations ;  while  the  greater  portion  of  the  Exiles  were  taking  up 
their  residence  farther  in  the  interior  of  the  territory,  upon  the 
Withlacoochce,  the  St.  John's,  the  Big  Cypress  Swamp,  the  Islands 
in  the  Great  Wahoo  Swamp,  and  places  far  retired  from  civilization. 
The  Seminole  Indians  were  scattered  extensively  over  different 
portions  of  the  country  ;  and  although  the  United  States  now  own- 
ed the  unoccupied  lands,  it  was  difficult  to  determine  upon  any 
course  of  policy  by  which  the  difficulties,  so  long  existing,  could 
be  terminated. 

The  subject  was  alluded  to  by  the  President  in  his  Annual 
Message  to  Congress  (Dec.  3),  and  a  select  committee  was 
appointed  to  take  that  portion  of  it  into  consideration.  The  committee 
propounded  interrogatories  to  various  officers  of  government,  who 
were  supposed  capable  of  giving  useful  information  in  regard  to 
the  subject.^ 

In  answer  to  these  interrogatories,  Mr.  Penieres,  Sub- Agent  for 
the  Florida  Indians,  replied,  stating  the  number  of  Indians  at 
more  than  five  thousand,  while  the  number  of  slaves  which  they 
held  were  estimated  at  only  forty.  These  he  declared  to  be  far 
more  intelligent  than  the  slaves  resident  among  the  white  people, 
and  possessing  great  influence  over  their  Indian  masters.  He 
alluded  to  the  Exiles  in  the  following   language:     "It   will   be 

(1)  Tide  Reports  of  Committee  XYUth  Congress,  2d  Session,  No.  195. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  71 

**  difficult  (says  he)  to  form  a  prudent  determination  with  respect 
**  to  the  'maroon  negroes,'  (Exiles),  who  live  among  the  Indians, 
'*  on  the  other  side  of  the  little  mountain  of  Latchiouc.  They  fear 
"  beino;  asrain  made  slaves,  under  the  American  Government,  and 
•*  will  omit  nothing  to  increase  or  keep  alive  mistrust  among  the 
"  Indians,  whom  they,  in  foct,  govern.  If  it  should  become  ne- 
*'  cessary  to  use  force  with  them,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  Indians 
"  will  take  their  part.  It  will,  however,  be  necessary  to  remove 
"from  the  Floridas  this  group  of  freebooters,  among  whom  runa- 
"  way  negroes  will  always  find  a  refuge.  It  will,  perhaps,  be  pos- 
*'  sible  to  have  them  received  at  St.  Domingo,  or  to  furni.sh  them 
**  means  of  withdrawing  from  the  United  States  !" 

This  gentleman  appears  to  have  had  more  knowledge  of  the 
Exiles,  than  was  possessed  by  the  officers  of  the  United  States, 
generally,  who  supposed  that  each  negro  must  have  a  legitimate 
master.  He  appears,  also,  to  have  had  sufficient  humanity  to  sug- 
gest the  plan  ef  their  removal,  rather  than  their  enslavement. 

In  answer  to  the  interrogatories  of  this  committee,  General 
Jackson  proposed  to  compel  the  Seminoles  to  reunite  with  the 
Creeks,  by  leaving  Florida  and  returning  to  the  Creek  country ; 
and  closed  his  recommendation  by  saying,  "this  must  be  done,  or 
"  the  frontier  will  be  much  weakened  by  the  Indian  settlements, 
"  and  be  a  perpetual  harbor  for  our  slaves.  These  runaway 
"  slaves,  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Penieres,  must  be  removed  from  the 
"  Floridas,  or  scenes  of  murder  and  confusion  will  exist.  "^ 

This  suggestion  of  General  Jackson  for  the  removal  of  the 
Seminoles,  both  Indians  and  negroes,  bears  date  September  second, 
1822,  and  is  the  first  suggestion,  of  that  precise  character,  of 
which  we  have  knowledge.  General  Jackson  was  a  warrior,  and 
had  more  faith  in  the  bayonet  than  in  moral  truths.  He  trusted 
much  to  physical  power,  but  had  little  confidence  in  kindness,  or  in 

(1)  Vide  Am.  State  Papers,  Vol.  VI,  pages  411,  412.  It  will  be  obserred  that  General 
Jackson  discarded  the  term  '■'■maroon,^  used  by  Penieres,  as  that,  in  Jamaioi,  signifies 
"  />«  nei;rots  of  the  mountains,"  who  'nee  fled  from  service,  but  have  maintained  their 
bberty  so  long  that  they  cannot  be  identified,  and  are  therefore  admitted  to  be  free. 


72  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

justice  or  moral  suasion.  He  was  an  officer  of  great  popularity, 
however,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  his  views  had  greater  weight 
with  those  who  followed  him  in  official  life,  than  their  intrinsic 
merits  entitled  them  to.  It  is  certain  that  his  policy  of  removing 
the  Indians  and  Exiles  from  Florida,  was  subsequently  adopted  by 
him  while  President,  and  has  continued  to  be  the  cherished  object 
with  most  of  his  successors  in  that  office. 

The  controversy  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Creeks 
had  been  settled  at  Indian  Springs.  In  the  treaty  entered  into  at 
that  place,  the  United  States  had  held  the  Creek  Nation  responsi- 
ble for  the  action  of  the  Seminoles,  under  the  plea  that  they  were 
a  part  of  the  Creek  Nation.  Having  obtained  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars  from  the  Creeks  in  this  way,  to  satisfy  the 
slave  claimants  of  Georgia,  the  Executive  now  suddenly  became 
satisfied  that  the  Seminoles  were  a  distinct  and  independent  tribe, 
and  he  prepared  to  treat  with  them  as  such.  Commissioners  were 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  efi<3rts  made  to  collect  their  chiefs, 
warriors  and  principal  men,  in  order  to  carry  out  this  object. 

Suspicious  of  the  objects  which  prompted  this  proposal,  the  In- 
dians were  unwilling  to  meet  the  commissioners.  Kunners  were 
sent  to  the  different  bands,  and  eventually  some  thirty  or  forty  were 
collected.  These  were  declared  by  the  commissioners  to  represent 
a  majority  of  the  Seminole  tribe,  and  (Sept.  18)  they 
proceeded  to  form  the  treaty  of  "  Camp  Moultrie."  The 
letter  of  instructions,  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  was  specific 
on  one  point  only.  The  commissioners  were  directed  to  so  ar- 
range the  treaty  as  to  constrain  the  Indians  to  settle  within  the 
territory  south  of  Tampa  Bay,  excluded  from  the  coast  on  all 
sides  by  a  strip  of  country  at  least  fifteen  miles  in  width.  This 
would  have  taken  from  them  their  most  fertile  lands  on  the  Su- 
wanee  River,  the  Appalachicola  River,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Mickasukie  Lake.  Some  six  chiefs,  who  had  taken  possession  of 
the  plantations  which  had  been  opened  and  cultivated  by  the  Exiles 
murdered  at  "Blount's  Fort,"  refused  to  sign  the  treaty.     They 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  7B 

wore,  however,  prevailed  upon  to  agree  to  the  treaty,  when  it  had 
been  so  modified  as  to  give  them  each  a  reservation  t)f  fertile  lands, 
to  meet  their  own  necessities. 

By  agreeing  to  these  stipulations,  the  commissioners  obtained 
their  signatures  to  the  treaty  —  the  United  States  guaranteeing  to 
the  Indians  peaceable  possession  of  the  country  and  reservations 
assigned  them.  They  also  covenanted  to  ''take  the  Florida  In- 
*'  dians  under  their  care  and  patronage,  and  afford  them  pro- 
"  TECTiox  AGAINST  ALL  PERSONS  WHATSOEVER,"  and  to  ''restrain 
*'  and  prevent  all  white  persons  from  hunting,  settling,  or  other- 
**  wise  intruding,  upon  said  lands."  They  also  agreed  to  pay  the 
Indians  six  thousand  dollars  in  cattle  and  hogs,  furnish  them  with 
provisions  to  support  them  one  year,  and  pay  them  five  thousand 
dollars  annually  for  twenty  years.  But  one  great  object  of  the 
treaty  was  embraced  in  the  seventh  Article,  which  was  expressed 
in  the  following  languacie  : 

"  The  chiefs  and  warriors  aforesaid,  for  themselves  and  tribes, 
"  stipulate  to  be  active  and  vigilant  in  preventing  the  retreating 
"  to,  or  passing  through,  the  district,  or  country  assigned  them,  of 
"  any  absconding  slave,  or  fugitives  from  justice  ;  and  they  further 
*'  agree  to  use  all  necessary  exertions  to  apprehend  and  deliver 
"  the  same  to  the  agent,  wiio  shall  receive  orders  to  compensate 
"  them  agreeably  to  the  trouble  and  expense  incurred." 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  the  commissioners,  acting  "under  in- 
structions of  the  Secretary  of  War,  now  assured  the  Seminoles 
that  they  had  been  a  separate  and  independent  tribe  more  than  a 
century ;  while  other  commissioners,  acting  under  instructions  from 
the  same  Secretary,  only  twenty  months  previously,  insisted  that 
the  Seminoles  were,  at  that  time,  a  part  of  the  Creek  tribe ;  and 
on  that  assumed  fact,  the  Creeks  were  held  responsible  for  the 
value  of  such  slaves  as  left  their  masters  during  the  Revolution  and 
prior  to  1802,  and  took  up  their  residence  with  the  Seminoles. 
But -these  contradictory  positions  appeared  to  be  necessary  to 
sustain  the  slave  interest. 


74  THE    EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  from  the  signing  of  this  treaty,  there 
was  no  longer«any  controversy  between  our  Government  and  the 
Creeks  in  relation  to  fugitive  slaves.  That  quarrel  was  transferred 
to  the  Seminoles;  and  now,  after  thirty-four  years  have  passed 
away,  and  many  millions  of  treasure  have  been  expended,  and 
thousands  of  human  lives  sacrificed,  at  the  moment  of  writing 
these  incidents,  our  army  is  actively  employed  in  carrying  on  the 
contest  which  arose,  and  for  more  than  the  third  of  a  century  has 
been  almost  constantly  maintained,  for  the  recapture  and  return  of 
these  people ;  and  although  our  members  of  Congress  from  the 
free  States  had  witnessed  the  long  and  expensive  contest,  and  the 
vast  sacrifice  of  blood  and  treasure,  which  had  been  squandered  in 
efforts  to  regain  possession  of  the  Exiles ;  yet  we  do  not  find  any 
objection  to  have  been  raised  or  protest  uttered  against  this  new 
treaty,  in  either  branch  of  our  National  Legislature.  Indeed,  so  far 
as  we  have  information  on  the  subject,  the  appropriations  for  carry- 
ing it  into  effect  were  cheerfully  made,  without  objection. 

This  compact  drew  still  more  closely  the  meshes  of  the  federal 
power  around  the  Exiles.  The  United  States  now  held  what  is 
called  in  slaveholding  parlance  the  "  legal  title  "  to  their  bones 
and  sinews,  their  blood  and  muscle,  while  the  Creek  Indians  were 
vested  with  the  entire  beneficial  interest  in  them.  But  neither  the 
United  States  nor  the  Creek  Indians  had  been  able  to  reduce  them 
to  possession.  The  white  settlements  were,  however,  gradually 
extending,  and  the  territory  of  the  Seminoles  was  diminishing  in 
proportion ;  and  it  was  easy  to  foresee  the  difficulties  with  which 
they  were  soon  to  be  surrounded. 

By  the  treaty,  many  of  their  cultivated  fields,  and  most  of  the 
villages,  which  they  had  recently  defended  with  so  much  bravery, 
were  given  up  to  the  whites,  and  those  who  had  so  long  occupied 
them,  were  compelled  to  retire  still  further  into  the  interior,  and 
commence  new  improvements.  A  few  Exiles  remained  with  the 
chiefs  who  held  reservations  upon  the  Appalachicola.  Those  who 
remained,  however,  were  persons  who  had  become  connected  by 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  75 

marriage  with  the  Indians  belonging  to  those  small  bands,  from 
whom  they  were  unwilling  to  separate. 

To  this  treaty  some  writers  have  traced  the  causes  which  produc- 
ed the  recent  "Florida  War."  They  attribute  to  its  stipulations 
that  vast  sacrifice  of  treasure,  and  of  national  reputation,  which  lias 
rendered  that  territory  distinguished  in  history.  With  that  war, 
our  present  history  is  connected  only  so  far  as  the  Exiles  were  con- 
cerned in  its  prosecution ;  but  it  would  appear  difficult  for  any 
historian  to  overlook  the  important  fact  that  obtaining  possession  of 
fugitive  slaves  constituted  the  moving  consideration  for  this  treaty, 
and  the  primary  cause  of  both  the  first  and  second  Seminole  wars. 
Most  of  this  year  was  occupied  in  removing  the  Indians 
to  their  new  territory.  They  also  suffered  severely  for 
the  want  of  food,  and  the  attention  of  both  Indians  and  officers  of 
Government  appears  to  have  been  occupied  with  these  subjects. 

In  the  autumn,  Mr.  Adams  was  elected  President.  But  his  policy 
was  in  part  unfavorable  to  the  Exiles.  Removals  from  office  under 
his  administration  were  limited.  If  an  officer  were  removed, 
it  was  not  until  after  it  had  been  ascertained  that  just  cause 
existed  for  the  removal.  This  policy  continued  nearly  every  man  in 
office  who  had  been  connected  with  the  Indian  Department  under 
the  former  xldministration.  Colonel  Gad  Humphreys  had  been 
appointed  Agent  for  the  Seminoles  as  early  as  1822.  He  was  a 
resident  of  Florida,  and  a  slaveholder,  deeply  interested  in  main- 
tainino-  the  institution  ;  but  so  far  as  his  official  acts  have  come 
before  the  public,  he  appears  to  have  performed  his  duty  with  a 
good  degree  of  humanity.  Indeed,  such  were  his  efforts  in  behalf 
of  justice  to  the  oppressed,  that  he  became  obnoxious  to  Southern 
men,  and  was  eventually  removed  from  office  on  that  account. 
William  P.  Duval  was  also  continued  in  the  office  of  Governor, 
and  ex-officio  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  the  Territory  of 
Florida.  He  was  also  a  slaveholder,  and  resident  of  the  territory ; 
but  even  Southern  men  found  little  cause  to  complain  of  his  devo- 
tion to  liberty  or  justice.     He,  and  many  other  officers,  appear  to 


76 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


have  supposed  the  first  important  duty  imposed  on  them,  consisted 
in  lending  an  efficient  support  to  those  claims  for  slaves  which 
were  constantly  pressed  upon  them  by  unprincipled  white  men. 

Early  as  the  twenty-fifth  of  January,  Governor  Duval,  acting 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  the  Territory,  wrote  Colonel 
Humphreys,  giving  him  general  directions  in  regard  to  the  course 
which  he  should  pursue  in  all  cases  where  fugitive  slaves  were 
claimed.  "  On  the  subject  (said  he)  of  runaway  slaves  among 
**  the  Indians,  within  the  control  of  your  agency,  it  will  be  proper 
*'  in  all  cases,  where  you  believe  the  owners  can  identify  the  slaves, 
**  to  have  them  taken,  and  delivered  over  to  the  Marshal  of  East 
*'  Florida,  at  St.  Augustine,  so  that  the  Federal  Judge  may  inquire 
**  into  the  claim  of  the  party,  and  determine  the  right  of  property. 
"But  in  all  cases  where  the  same  slave  is  claimed  by  a  white 
"  person  and  an  Indian,  if  you  believe  the  Indian  has  an  equitable 
**  claim  to  the  slave,  you  are  directed  not  to  surrender  the  slave, 
**  except  by  the  order  of  the  Hon.  Joseph  L.  Smith,  Federal  Judge 
"residing  at  St.  Augustine;  and  in  that  case,  you  will  attend 
•'  before  him,  and  defend  the  right  of  the  Indian,  if  you  believe  he 
**  has  right  on  his  side." 

In  all  these  cases,  the  slave  or  colored  man,  whether  bond  or 
free,  was  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  a  brute.  He  was 
permitted  to  say  nothing  upon  the  subject  of  his  own  right  to 
liberty.  His  voice  was  silenced  amidst  the  despotism  with  which 
he  was  surrounded.  No  law  was  consulted.  The  belief  of  a 
slaveholding  Agent  decided  the  fate  of  the  person  claimed.  Those 
who  claimed  to  own  their  fellow  men,  would  always  find  persons  to 
testify  to  their  claims,  and  it  was  in  vain  for  an  Indian  to  attempt 
litigation  with  a  slaveholding  white  man  before  a  slaveholding 
Judge.  ^ 

The  Exiles  were  not  the  property  of  the  Indians  in  any  sense. 

{!)  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  doctrine  recently  avowed  by  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  that  "  black  men  have  no  rights  wh'ch  white  men  are  bound  to  respect,'''' 
■was  recognized  and  practiced  upon  in  Florida,  more  than  thirty  years  since,  by  the 
officers  of  Government. 


THE    EXILES   OP    FLORIDA.  77 

The  Indians  did  not  claim  to  own  them.  Under  the  rule  pre- 
scribed, if  a  white  man  could  get  one  of  the  Exiles  within  his 
power,  he  could  at  any  time  prove  some  circumstance  that  would 
entitle  him  to  claim  some  negro ;  when  he  proved  this,  the  law  of 
Florida  presumed  every  colored  man  to  be  a  slave,  unless  he  could 
prove  his  freedom.  This,  no  Exile  could  do;  and,  when  seized, 
they  were  uniformly  consigned  to  bondage.  The  only  safety  for 
the  Exile  was,  to  entirely  avoid  the  whites,  who  were  not  permitted 
to  enter  the  territory  except  upon  the  written  permit  of  some 
officer. 

The  slave- catchers,  therefore,  had  recourse  to  the  practice  of 
describing  certain  black  persons,  in  the  Indian  country,  as  their 
slaves,  and  demanding  that  the  Agent  should  have  them  seized  and 
delivered  to  him.  But  the  Agent,  knowing  these  claims  to  be 
merely  fictitious  in  some  instances,  paid  no  attention  to  them.  The 
claimants,  intent  on  obtaining  wealth  by  catching  negroes,  and  sell- 
ing them  as  slaves,  complained  of  the  Agent  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs,  who,  on  the  eighth  of  February  (1827),  wrote 
the  Agent,  reproving  him  for  his  remissness  in  failing  to  capture 
and  return  fugitive  slaves,  saying:  "Frequent  complaints  have 
"  been  made  to  the  Department,  respecting  slaves  claimed  by  the 
"  citizens  of  Florida,  which  are  in  possession  of  the  Indians ;  all 
"which  have  been  acted  on  here,  in  issuing  such  orders  to  you  as 
"  it  was  expected  would  be  promptly  obeyed;  *  *  *  and  that 
"  these  proceedings  would  be  followed  by  the  proper  reports  to  the 
*'  Department.  Nothing  satisfactory  has  been  received^ 
1  GOP  -\  '^^^^  ^^  Indian  Bureau,  at  Washington,  took  upon 
itself  the  responsibility  of  deciding  particular  cases,  upon 
the  ex  'parte  testimony  which  the  claimants  presented ;  and  the 
commissioner  concluded  his  letter  by  a  peremptory  order  to  Colonel 
Humphreys,  directing  him  to  capture  and  deliver  over  two  slaves, 
said  to  be  the  property  of  a  Mrs.  Cook. 

To  this  order  the   Agent  replied  in  the  language  of  dignified 
rebuke.     After  stating  that  one  of  the  slaves  had  been  captured 


78  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

by  the  Indians,  and  given  up,  he  says :  '^  but  they  will  not,  I  ap- 
**  prebend,  consent  further  to  risk  their  lives  in  a  service  which  has 
**  always  been  a  thankless  one,  and  has  recently  proved  so  to  one 
"  of  their  most  respected  chiefs,  who  was  killed  in  an  attempt  to 
*'  arrest  a  runaway  slave."  ^ 

The  love  of  liberty  is  universal.  We  honor  the  individual  who 
gives  high  evidence  of  his  attachment  to  this  fundamental  right, 
with  which  God  has  endowed  all  men,  and  we  applaud  him  who 
manfully  defends  his  liberty,  whether  it  be  a  Washington  with 
honors  clustering  upon  his  brow,  or  the  more  humble  individual 
who  defends  his  liberty  in  Florida,  by  slaying  the  man  who  attempts 
to  deprive  him  of  it.  But  these  views  were  not  recognized  by  the 
agents  of  our  Government. 

While  the  Department  at  Washington  supposed  the  Agent  to 
have  neglected  his  duty,  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for 
the  territory  supposed  the  Agent  had  been  quite  too  faithful  to 
1  ftO"  n  ^^®  slaveholders.  On  the  twentieth  of  March  he  wrote 
Colonel  Humphreys,  saying,  "  Many  slaves  belonging  to 
**  the  Indians  are  now  in  possession  of  the  white  people. 
**  These  slaves  cannot  be  obtained  for  their  Indian  owners  without 
**  a  lawsuit ;"  and  he  then  directed  the  Agent  to  submit  the  claim, 
in  all  cases  where  there  was  an  Indian  claimant,  to  the  chiefs  for 
decision. 

In  these  contests  between  barbarians  and  savages,  concerning  the 
rights  which  they  claimed  to  the  bodies  of  their  fellow  men,  the 
Exiles  had  no  voice.  They  well  understood  that  the  rapacity  of 
the  slave  claimants  was  unbounded  and  inexorable ;  they  therefore 
endeavored  to  avoid  all  contact  with  the  whites,  and  to  preserve 
their  freedom  by  affording  the  piratical  slave-catchers  no  oppor- 
tunity to  lay  hands  on  them. 

These  demands  for  negroes  alleged  to  be  among  the  Indians, 
continued  to  excite  the  people  of  Florida  and  to  perplex  the  officers 

(1)  Vide  Executive  Documents,  No.  271,  2d  Session  XXVth  Congress. 


I 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  79 

of  Government,  threatening  the  most  serious  results,^  and  contin- 
ually enhancing  the  dangers  of  the  Exiles. 

The  troops  at  Fort  King  were  called  on  to  aid  in  the  arrest  of 
fugitive  slaves ;  but  their  efforts  merely  excited  the  ridicule  and 
contempt  of  both  Indians  and  negroes.  These  circumstances  be- 
coming known  to  the  slaves  of  Florida,  naturally  excited  them  to 
discontent;  and  while  their  masters  were  engaged  in  eflforts  to 
arrest  negroes  to  whom  they  had  no  claim,  their  own  servants  in 
whom  they  had  reposed  every  confidence,  suddenly  disappeared 
and  became  lost  among  the  Exiles  of  the  interior.  The  white  peo- 
ple became  irritated  under  these  vexations.  Their  indignation 
against  the  Indians  was  unbounded.  The  Agent,  Colonel  Hum- 
phreys,  gave  a  vivid  description  of  their  barbarity,  in  a  letter  to 
the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.^  But  remonstrances  with 
the  Indian  Department  appeared  to  have  no  effect.  Peremptory 
orders  for  the  arrest  and  delivery  of  slaves  continued  to  reach  the 
Agent.  These  orders  he  could  not  carry  into  effect,  as  he  could 
1  QOfi  n  ^^'"'"^"f^  ^^  hYGQ  adequate  to  the  arrest  of  the  fugitives. 
Governor  Duval  began  to  regard  the  Agent  as  remiss  in 
his  efforts,  and  so  reported  him  to  the  War  Department.  Some  of 
the  most  wealthy  Seminoles  had  purchased  slaves  of  the  white 
people,  and  for  many  years,  perhaps  we  may  say  for  generations, 
had  been  slaveholders.  They  held  their  slaves  in  a  state  between 
that  of  servitude  and  freedom  ;  the  slave  usually  living  with  his 
own  family  and  occupying  his  time  as  he  pleased,  paying  his  master 
annually  a  small  stipend  in  corn  and  other  vegetables.  This  class 
of  slaves  regarded  servitude  among  the  whites  with  the  greatest 
degree  of  horror. 

The  owners  of  fugitive  slaves,  or  men  who  pretended  to  have 
lost  slaves,  when  able,  would  seize  and  hold  those  belonging  to  the 
Indians.  The  Indians  being  ignorant  of  legal  proceedings,  were 
unable  to  obtain  compensation  from  those  who  thus  robbed  them 


(1)  Captain  Sprague,  of  the  United  States  Armj',  so  states,  in  his  History  of  the  War. 

(2)  Vide  Letter  of  the  Agent,  dated  sixth  of  March,  1827. 


80  THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

of  what  the  slaveholders  termed  property.  This  practice  became 
so  common  that,  on  the  seventeenth  of  April,  many  of  the  chiefs 
and  warriors  assembled  at  the  Agency,  and  made  their  protest  to 
the  Agent,  declaring  that  "many  of  their  negroes,  horses,  cattle, 
*'  etc.,  were  in  the  hands  of  the  white  people,  for  which  they  were 
*'  unable  to  obtain  compensation."  Contrary  to  the  treaty  of  Camp 
Moultrie,  white  men  were  at  that  time  in  the  Indian  country 
searching  for  slaves,  and  the  chiefs  demanded  of  the  Agent  the 
reason  why  the  white  people  thus  violated  the  treaty  to  rob  the 
Indians  ?  The  Agent  could  only  reply,  that  the  white  men  were 
there  by  permission  given  them  by  the  Secretary  of  War.^ 

So  flagrant  were  these  outrages  upon  the  Indians  and  negroes, 
that  Colonel  Brooke,  of  the  United  States  Army,  at  that  time  com- 
manding in  Florida,  took  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of  address- 
ing the  Agent,  advising  him  not  to  deliver  negroes  to  the  white 
men,  unless  their  ^'■claims  were  made  clear  and  satisfactory y^ 
The  District  Judge  of  the  United  States  for  the  Territory,  also 
wrote  Colonel  Humphreys,  giving  his  construction  of  the  rules 
adopted  by  the  Indian  Bureau.  He  thought,  in  no  case,  should  a 
negro  be  delivered  up,  where  the  Indians  claimed  him,  until  proofs 
had  been  made  and  title  established  before  judicial  authority. ^ 

No  law  was  looked  to  as  the  rule  by  which  officers  of  Govern- 
ment were  to  be  controlled  in  their  official  duties.  The  opinun, 
the  judgment,  of  the  individual  constituted  his  rule  of  action. 
During  the  nineteenth  century,  perhaps  no  despotism  has  existed 
among  civilized  nations  more  unlimited,  or  more  unscrupulous, 
than  that  exercised  in  Florida,  from  1823  to  1843. 

This  state  of  affairs  determined  the  Exiles  not  to  he  arrested  by 
white  men.  Thus,  when  Governor  Duval  ordered  a  compensation 
for  a  slave  claimed  by  Mrs.  Cook,  to  be  retained  from  their  annui- 

(1)  Vide  Minutes  of  Talk  held   at  Seminole  Agency,  with  Treskal,  Mathia,  and  other 
Chiefs.     Ex.  Doc.  271,  1st  Sess.  XXIV th  Congre.ss. 

(2)  Vide  Lotter  of  Col.  Brooke  to  Col.  Humphreys,  6  May,  1828,  contained  in  the  above 
cited  Document. 

(3)  Vide  Letter  of  Judge  Smith,  May  10,  1828,  contained  in  same  Document. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  81 

ties,  the  chiefs  held  a  talk  with  the  Agent,  and  assured  him  that 
the  "  man  was  born  among  the  Seminoles,  and  had  never  been  out 
of  the  nation.^-  ^ 

These  demands  for  negroes  increased  in  number ;  and  the  whites 
became  more  and  more  rapacious,  and  the  Indians  more  and  more 
indignant,  until  hostilities  appeared  inevitable.  The  Agent,  from 
long  association  with  the  Indians  and  his  knowledge  of  facts,  nat- 
urally sympathised  with  them.  He  assembled  a  number  of  the 
chiefs  at  the  Agency,  and  suggested  to  them  the  absolute  necessity 
of  submitting  to  the  white  people  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding 
further  difficulties,  advised  them  to  emigrate  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
or,  rather,  to  send  a  delegation  to  examine  the  country ;  and,  as 
an  inducement,  offered  to  accompany  their  chiefs  and  warriors  on 
such  a  tour.  To  this  proposition  a  few  of  them  consented,  and  the 
Agent  notified  the  Department  of  the  fact.^ 

It  was  easy  to  see  that,  under  the  existing  state  of  affairs,  hostil- 
ities could  not  long  be  avoided.  Up  to  the  period  of  which  we  are 
speaking,  the  action  of  our  Government  had  been  dictated  by  those 
who  sought  to  uphold  and  encourage  Slavery ;  nor  could  it  be  ex- 
pected that  this  long-established  policy  would  be  suddenly  changed, 
unless  such  change  were  peremptorily  demanded  by  the  people. 

There  was  apparently  but  one  course  to  be  pursued  under  this 
policy  —  that  was  the  removal  of  the  Indians  from  Florida.  This 
plan  had  been  recommended  by  General  Jackson  ten  years  previ- 
ously, and  he  now  being  President,  had  an  opportunity  of  carrying 
out  his  proposed  policy.  To  effect  this  purpose,  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  negotiate  a  treaty  by  which  the  Indians  should  consent  to 
abandon  Florida  and  remove  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

It  had  long  been  the  policy  of  those  who  administered  the  Gov- 
ernment, to  select  Southern  men  to  act  in  all  offices  in  which  the 
I  institution  of  slavery  was  likely  to  be  called  in  question.  From  the 
(1)  Vide  Statement  of  John  Hick,  15  August,  1828.  Ex.  Doc.  271,  before  quoted, 
1  <2)  Vide  Letter  of  Gad  Humphreys,  Oct.  20, 1828.  It  probably  was  the  first  time  the 
proposition  was  submitted  to  the  Seminoles. 


82  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

time  General  Washington  sent  Colonel  Willett  to  ascertain  facts  in 
regard  to  the  controversy  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the 
Creek  Indians,  in  1789,  to  the  period  of  which  we  are  now  speak- 
ing, no  Northern  man  was  appointed  to  any  office  which  required 
his  personal  attention  to  the  situation  of  the  Exiles.^ 
1  QQo  n  ^"  accordance  with  this  practice,  General  Cass,  acting 
as  Secretary  of  War,  appointed  Colonel  James  Gadsden, 
of  South  Carolina,  to  negotiate  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing.  By 
the  preamble  of  this  treaty,  the  Seminoles  stipulated  that  eight  of 
their  principal  chiefs  should  visit  the  Western  country,  "  accompa- 
nied hy  their  faithful  interpreter ,  Abraham,''^  (an  Exile,  and  a  man 
of  great  repute  among  both  Exiles  and  Indians,)  and  should  they 
be  satisfied  with  the  character  of  the  country,  and  of  the  favorable 
disposition  of  the  Creeks  to  reunite  with  the  Seminoles  as  one  peo- 
ple, they  would,  in  such  case,  agree  to  the  stipulations  subsequently 
contained  in  said  treaty. 

The  first  article  merely  makes  an  exchange,  by  the  Seminoles, 
of  lands  in  Florida  for  an  equal  extent  of  territory,  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, adjoining  the  Creek  Nation. 

The  second  article  provides  compensation  for  the  improvements, 
and  specifically  stipulates,  that  Abraham  and  Cudjoe  (two  Exiles 
who  acted  as  interpreters)  should  receive,  each,  two  hundred 
dollars. 

The  third  provides  for  the  distribution  of  blankets  and  frocks 
among  them. 

The  fourth  article  provides  for  certain  annuities,  etc. 

The  fifth  merely  stipulates  the  manner  in  which  the  personal 
property  of  the  Seminoles  shall  be  disposed  of  in  Florida,  and  the 
same  articles  supplied  them  in  their  new  homes  at  the  West. 

The  sixth  is  in  the  following  language  :  ' '  The  Seminoles,  being 
"  anxious  to  be  relieved  from  the  repeated  vexatious  demands  for 
"  slaves  and  other  property,  alleged  to  have  been  stolen  and  de- 

(1)  Even  Mr.  Adams,  when  President,  continued  in  office  those  men  who  had  been 
placed  there  by  his  predeceeeors. 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  83 

"  stroyed  by  them,  so  that  they  may  remove  to  their  new  homes 
*'  unembarrassed,  the  United  States  stipulate  to  have  the  same 
**  properly  investigated,  and  to  liquidate  such  as  may  be  satisfac- 
"  torily  established,  provided  the  amount  does  not  exceed  fourteen 
*'  thousand  dollars." 

The  seventh  article  stipulates  that  a  portion  of  the  Indians 
should  remove  in  1833,  and  the  remainder  in  1834. 

Two  leading  features  of  this  treaty  attract  the  attention  of  the 
reader.  The  first  is  the  removal  of  the  Seminoles ;  second,  their 
reunion  with  the  Creeks.  The  Creeks,  having  paid  the  slavehold- 
ers of  Georgia  for  their  loss  of  Exiles,  had  permitted  the  subject  to 
rest  in  silence,  and,  so  far  as  we  are  informed,  no  formal  claim  had 
yet  been  asserted  by  the  Creeks  to  seize  and  bold  the  Exiles  as 
slaves ;  but  it  is  evident  that  the  negotiators  of  this  treaty  intended 
to  place  the  Seminoles,  when  settled  in  their  western  homes,  within 
the  power,  and  under  the  jurisdiction,  of  the  Creeks.  Yet  it  was 
well  known  that,  from  the  time  of  their  separation,  in  1750,  up  to 
the  signing  of  this  treaty,  they  had  disagreed  and,  at  times,  had 
been  in  open  war  with  each  other.  General  Cass,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  as  well  as  the  President,  must  have  known  that  Mcintosh, 
the  principal  chief  of  the  Creeks,  had  accompanied  Colonel  Clinch, 
with  five  hundred  warriors,  when  he  invaded  Florida  for  the  pur- 
pose of  massacreing  the  Exiles  at  "  Blount's  Fort,"  in  1816  ;  that 
the  Creeks  shared  in  that  massacre,  and  had  publicly  tortured  and 
murdered  one  Indian  and  one  negro,  whom  they  styled  chiefs.  It 
is  difficult  to  believe  that  any  man  could  expect  them  to  live  togeth- 
er in  peace,  with  the  recollection  of  those  scenes  resting  on  the 
mind;  nor  has  any  explanation  yet  been  given,  nor  reason  assigned, 
for  the  anxiety  of  our  officers  to  place  the  Seminoles  within  the 
power  of  the  Creeks,  except  a  desire  to  enslave  the  Exiles. 

Abraham,  who  acted  as  interpreter,  had  been  born  among  the 
Seminoles.  His  parents  had  fled  from  Georgia,  and  died  in  their 
forest-home.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  unusual  influence- 
with  his  more  savage  friends ;  and  although  he  insisted  on  emigrar 


^4  ^  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

ting  to  the  West,  in  opposition  to  many  of  his  brethren,  yet  he  has 
to  this  day  maintained  a  high  reputation  among  his  people.  Cudjoe 
was  less  known,  and,  subsequently,  was  less  conspicuous  than 
Abraham ;  indeed,  we  know  but  little  of  him.  But  the  experi- 
ence of  Abraham,  nor  the  learning  of  Cudjoe,  could  detect  that  vague 
use  of  language  which  was  subsequently  seized  upon  for  justifying 
the  fraud  perpetrated  under  this  treaty. 

In  the  preamble,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  Seminoles  were  to 
send  six  of  their  confidential  chiefs  to  view  the  western  country ; 
and  if  they  were  satisfied  with  the  country,  etc.  The  Seminoles 
supposed  the  pronoun  they  had  relation  to  the  Tribe ;  while  General 
Jackson  construed  it  to  refer  to  the  chiefs  sent  West.  If  they  were 
satisfied,  he  held  the  Tribe  bound  to  emigrate  at  all  events ;  and 
his  efforts  were,  therefore,  directed  to  satisfying  the  chiefs  who  went 
to  view  the  country. 

But  the  leading  men  of  the  Seminoles  became  suspicious  of  the 
design  of  the  Creeks  to  enslave  the  Exiles,  before  their  delegation 
left  Florida,  and  publicly  expressed  their  suspicion.^ 

The  President  appears  to  have  determined  on  securing  the 
emigration  of  the  Indians  at  all  hazards  and  at  any  sacrifice.  For 
that  purpose  he  appointed  commissioners  to  go  west  and  obtain 
from  the  Seminole  delegation,  while  yet  in  the  western  country, 
and  absent  from  the  tribe,  an  acknowledgment  that  the  country 
was  suitable  for  a  residence,  and  that  the  Creeks  were  anxious  to 
unite  with  them  as  one  people.  This  was  to  be  obtained  before 
the  Seminole  delegation  should  return  to  Florida,  or  make  report 
to  their  nation,  or  give  the  Tribe  an  opportunity  to  judge  or  act 
upon  the  subject. 

His  object  was  accomplished  (March  28).    The  commis- 
sioners obtained  an  "  additional  treaty,^^  signed  by  the 
Seminole  delegation  sent  West,  without  any  authority  from  their  Na- 
tion to  enter  into  any  stipulation ;  nor  had  the  commissioners,  on  the 
|)art  of  the  United  States,  authority  to  form  any  treaty  whatever :  yet 

(1)  Vide  Sprague'8  History  of  the  Florida  War. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  85 

this  additional  treaty,  as  it  was  called,  after  reciting  some  of  the 
stipulations  contained  in  that  of  Payne's  Landing,  declares  "that 
'*  the  chiefs  sent  to  examine  the  country  ai-e  well  satisfied  with  it;" 
and  then  stipulates,  **  that  the  Seminole  Indians  shall  emigrate  to 
"  it  so  soon  as  the  United  States  shall  make  the  necessary  prepara- 
**tions."  There  was  also  another  provision  in  this  additional 
treaty  of  vast  importance  to  the  Exiles ;  it  designated  and  assigned 
to  the  Seminoles  a  certain  tract  of  country,  giving  its  metes  and 
bounds,  to  the  ''separate  use  of  the  Seminoles  forever." 

Their  agent.  Major  Phagan,  appears  to  have  been  willing  and 
capable  of  performing  his  part  in  this  diplomatic  intrigue.  We 
have  no  knowledge  of  the  means  used  to  obtain  this  additional 
treaty,  nor  the  bribery  by  which  it  was  secured;  but  it  is  known 
that  the  chiefs,  before  they  went  West,  expressed  their  dislike 
of  reuniting  with  the  Creeks;  that  when  they  returned,  they 
denied  having  agreed  to  settle  under  Creek  jurisdiction;  it  is  also 
certain  that  the  additional  treaty  stipulates  that  the  Seminoles  shall 
have  their  lands  separate  from  the  Creeks. 

When  they  returned,  their  agent,  Major  Phagan,  represented 
them  as  having  stipulated  for  the  positive  removal  of  the  Seminoles. 
The  chiefs  denied  it,  and  insisted  they  had  understood  their  author- 
ity as  extending  only  to  an  examination  of  the  country,  and  to 
report  the  result  to  the  Nation.  They  requested  that  the  chiefs, 
head-men  and  warriors  be  assembled  to  hear  their  report,  and  to 
express  their  own  determination.  But  the  agent  refused  to  call 
such  council,  and  assured  them  that  their  homes  and  heritage  were 
already  sold,  and  that  nothing  now  remained  for  them  to  do  but 
to  prepare  for  removal. 

The  people  of  Alachua  County,  Florida,  feeling  indignant  at  the 
determination  of  the  Seminoles  to  remain  in  that  Territory,  addressed 
a  protest  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  declaring  that  the 
Seminoles  did  not  capture  and  return  the  fugitive  slaves  who  fled 
to  the  Indian  country,  according  to  their  stipulations  in  the  treaty 
of  Camp  Moultrie,  but  rather  aflforded  protection  to  them.     They 


86  THE   EXILES    OF   ELORIDA. 

further  stated  that  while  the  Seminoles  remained  in  the  country  no 
slaveholder  could  enjoy  his  property  in  peace.  This  protest  was 
signed  by  ninety  of  the  principal  citizens  of  said  county,  and  for- 
warded to  the  President. 

This  statement  aroused  the  ire  of  the  President,  who  at  once 
indorsed  on  the  back  of  the  petition  an  order,  to  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  "  inquire  into  the  alleged  facts,  and  if  found  to  be  true,  to 
**  direct  the  Seminoles  to  prepare  to  remove  West  and  join  the 
"  Creeks.'^  The  order  was  characteristic  of  the  author.  He  waited 
not  for  the  approval  or  ratification  of  any  treaty ;  with  him  the 
whole  depended  upon  the  alleged  fact  of  the  Seminoles  failing  to 
bring  in  fugitive  slaves  —  not  upon  treaty,  nor  upon  the  ratification 
of  treaties.  1 

1 8Q1 1  '^^^^  Senate  of  the  United  States  was  subsequently  called 
on  by  the  President  to  approve  the  treaty  after  the  lapse  of 
nearly  two  years  from  its  date.  This  was  done,  and  the  President 
by  his  proclamation  immediately  declared  it  in  force.  It  was 
said  by  public  ofiicers,  then  in  Florida,  that  had  the  Seminole 
delegation  been  permitted  to  give  an  unbiased  opinion  to  their 
people,  there  would  not  have  been  a  man  in  the  Nation  willing 
to  migrate.^ 

The  whole  Nation  became  indignant  at  this  treatment,  and  such 
was  the  feeling  against  the  agent  that  he  deemed  it  prudent  to 
retire  from  the  agency.  General  Wiley  Thompson  was  appointed 
to  succeed  him.  General  Clinch  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  troops,  and  every  preparation  was  made  to  insure  the  speedy 
removal  of  the  Indians  and  Exiles  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Creeks  learning  that  a  tract  of  country  was, 
by  the  additional  treaty,  agreed  to  be  set  off  to  the  separate  use  of 
the  Seminoles,  saw  clearly  the  influence  which  Abraham  had  exer- 
cised in  the  matter,  and,  fearing  their  own  designs  for  obtaining 
slaves  would  be  defeated  through  their  principal  chiefs,  addressed  a 

(1)  Vide  Documents  relating  to  the  Florida  War,  1st  Session,  XXIYth  Congress. 

(2)  Vide  Sprague's  History  of  the  Florida  War. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  87 

protest  to  the  Hop.  Lewis  Cass,  then  Secretary  of  War,  remonstra- 
ting against  the  policy  of  giving  the  Scminoles  a  separate  country. 

These  chiefs  were  sagacious  men,  who  had  attained  distinction 
with  the  Creeks  by  their  manifestation  of  superior  intelligence.  Two 
of  them,  Rolley  Mcintosh  and  Chilley  Mcintosh,  sons  of  a  Scotch 
trader  who  lived  with  the  Indians,  had  been  educated,  and  were 
regarded  as  among  the  able  politicians  of  the  day.  They,  together 
with  "Toshatchee  Mieco  "  and  "Lewis,"  urged  the  propriety  of 
uniting  the  two  tribes  as  one  people,  without  any  separate  organi- 
zation. The  next  day  they  addressed  another  letter  to  Secretary 
Cass,  giving  additional  reasons  and  arguments  why  the  Seminoles 
should  not  have  separate  lands. ^ 

The  President  had  already  adopted  the  policy  of  compelling  the 
Seminoles  to  unite  under  one  government  with  the  Creeks :  and 
this  stipulation  for  separate  lands  was  introduced  into  the  "  ad- 
"  ditional  treaty,"  by  commissioners  who  were  not  fully  informed 
of  the  President's  views.  This  compact,  entered  into  at  Fort  Gib- 
son, erroneously  called  an  "additional  treaty,"  was  known  to  be 
void :  neither  the  Seminole  chiefs  nor  the  United  States  commis- 
sioners had  authority  to  negotiate  any  treaty  whatever ;  and  this 
stipulation,  for  holding  separate  lands  by  the  Seminoles,  appears  to 
have  been  totally  disregarded  by  the  Executive,  as  will  more  fully 
appear  hereafter. 

Another  circumstance  had  induced  the  Creeks  to  remain  silent 
in  regard  to  the  Exiles.  By  the  treaty  of  Indian  Spring,  they  had 
placed  at  the  President's  disposal  ^250,000,  out  of  which  the 
slaveholders  of  Georgia  were  to  be  paid  for  slaves  and  property 
lost  prior  to  1802.  The  commissioners  appointed  to  make  the 
examination  found  but  $109,000  due  the  claimants  under  this 
stipulation,  leaving  in  the  hands  of  the  President  $141,000  belong- 
ing to  the  Creeks.  This,  however,  was  claimed  by  the  slave- 
holders, in  addition  to  the  amount  allowed  by  the  treaty.  To 
obtain  this  money  the  slaveholders  sent  their  petition  to  Congress. 

(1)  Vide  Ex.  Doc.  271,  XXIVth  Congress,  1st  Sessiou.  pages  43  and  44. 


8« 


THJ    EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 


The  subject  was  referred  to  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Gilmer,  of 
Georgia,  was  Chairman.  The  committee  made  a  very  elaborate 
report,  setting  forth  that  the  claimants  had  an  equitable  right  to 
this  money  as  an  indemnity  "/or  the  loss  of  the  offspring  which  the 
*'  Exiles  loould  have  home  to  their  masters  had  they  remained  in 
*'  bondage,'^  and  it  is  among  the  inexplicable  transactions  of  that 
day,  that  the  bill  passed,  giving  the  money  to  those  claimants 
without  the  uttering  of  a  protest,  or  the  statement  of  an  objection, 
by  any  Northern  representative  or  senator. 

The  Creeks  now  having  paid  the  full  amount  stipulated  in  the 
treaty,  and  being  robbed  of  the  $141,000,  to  compensate  the  slave- 
^  holders  for  children  who  had  never  been  born,  were  excited  to 
madness.  They  believed  themselves  to  hold  the  beneficial  interest 
in  the  bodies  of  the  Exiles,  and  determined  to  obtain  possession  of 
them.^  They  immediately  sent  a  delegation  to  the  Seminoles  to 
demand  possession  of  the  Exiles  as  their  slaves. 

While  the  Creeks  were  thus  demanding  possession  of  the  refu- 
gees, the  Executive  of  the  United  States  and  his  ofl&cers  were 
endeavoring  to  compel  them  to  go  West,  where  the  Creeks  could, 
without  opposition,  lay  hands  upon  them  and  enslave  them. 

The  six  Seminole  chiefs  holding  reservations  upon  the  Appa- 
lachicola  River  owned  some  slaves,  and  with  those  slaves  some  of 
the  Exiles  had  intermarried.  Each  chief,  by  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  of  Camp  Moultrie,  was  permitted  to  name  the   men  who 

(1)  The  Author,  while  serving  in  Congress  in  1847-8  was.  by  the  Speaker,  placed  upon 
the  committee  of  Indian  Affairs.  While  serving  on  that  committee,  the  Creek  Indians 
applied  for  the  return  of  this  money  wh'ch  had  belonged  to  them,  but  had  been  wrongfully 
paid  over  by  Congress  to  the  slaveholders  of  Georgia,  some  fourteen  years  previously.  Tho 
case  was  referred  to  the  Author,  as  sub-committee,  who  reported  that  the  money,  in  justice, 
in  equity,  and  in  law,  belonged  to  the  Indians  ;  that  its  payment  to  the  slaveholders  was 
unjust  and  wrong,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  Indians.  The  report  was  con- 
firmed, and  the  money  p»id  to  the  Indians.  The  justice  of  the  cause  was  so  obvious  that 
it  met  with  no  opposition,  and  by  the  vote  of  both  Houses  it  now  stands  acknowledged 
and  declared  that  this  sum  of  $141,000  was  taken  from  the  pockets  of  the  laboring  men  of 
our  Nation,  and  paid  to  those  slaveholders  for  imaginary  slave  children  who  were  never 
horn ;  nor  have  we  been  able  to  learn  that  an  objection  was  raised,  or  protest  uttered,  by 
any  Northern  member  of  Congress. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  89 

were  to  reside  with  him,  and  such  chief  became  responsible  for  the 
conduct  of  the  persons  thus  named  ;  while  the  United  States 
stipulated  to  "afford  the  chiefs  and  their  people  protection  against 
*'  all  persons  whatsoever.  ^^ 

The  white  settlements  had  extended  to  the  vicinity  of  these  res- 
ervations, and  the  Exiles  and  Seminole  slaves  living  on  them 
were  more  immediately  exposed  to  the  rapacity  of  the  whites  than 
were  those  in  the  interior  of  the  territory. 

The  mania  for  obtaining  slaves  by  piratical  violence, 
seems  to  have  reached  a  point  almost  incredible  to  the 
people  of  the  free  States.  E-con-chattimico  was  one  of  the  chiefs 
whose  reservation  lay  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  He  had  long 
been  highly  respected  by  the  whites.  He  owned  some  twenty 
slaves,  who  were  residing  with  him  in  a  state  of  partial  freedom 
—  paying  him  an  annual  stipend  of  provisions  for  their  time, 
and  holding  such  property  as  they  could  acquire.  Connected 
with  these  slaves,  and  with  some  of  the  Indians  on  the  Reser- 
vation, were  about  an  equal  number  of  Exiles,  who  had  never 
known  slavery,  but  whose  ancestors,  in  former  generations,  had 
toiled  in  bondage.  Unwilling  to  separate  from  their  intimate 
friends  and  connexions,  they  had,  as  stated  in  a  former  chapter, 
come  here  to  occupy,  with  E-con-chattimico  and  his  friends,  one  of 
the  extensive  plantations  which  had  been  occupied  by  their  brethren 
who  fell  at  Blount's  Fort,  in  1816.  The  chief  had  named  them 
as  his  friends,  and  a  record  of  the  fact  had  been  deposited  in  the 
office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  ;  and  for  their  conduct 
E-con-chattimico  was  responsible,  under  the  treaty  of  "  Camp 
Moultrie ;"  while,  by  the  same  instrument,  the  faith  of  the  nation 
had  been  solemnly  pledged  "  to  protect  them  against  all  persons 
whatsoever. ^^ 

The  piratical  slave-dealers  of  Georgia  looked  upon  these  people, 
both  Exiles  and  slaves,  with  strong  desire  to  possess  them.  One 
of  these  fiends  in  human  shape,  named  Milton,  residing  in  Colum- 
bus, Georgia,    professed   to   have   purchased   them  from  a  Creek 


90  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

Indian.  The  claim  was  presented  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs,  and  by  him  referred  to  Judge  Cameron,  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  in  Florida,  for  examination. 

The  chief  being  a  man  of  influence  and  respected  by  the  whites, 
found  friends  to  espouse  his  cause.  The  claimant  began  to  doubt 
his  success  under  such  circumstances,  and  proposed  to  withdraw  his 
claim ;  but  so  flagrant  was  its  fraudulent  character,  that  Judge 
Cameron  felt  it  his  duty  to  report  upon  it,  showing  it  to  be  void.^ 
This  report  was  duly  transmitted  to  the  proper  department  at 
"Washington,  and  the  Old  Chief,  with  his  people,  once  more  reposed 
in  apparent  security. 

It  has  been  alleged,  that  men  who  so  far  paralyze  their  own 
moral  sensibilities  as  to  rob  their  fellow-men  of  their  labor,  their 
liberty,  their  manhood,  and  hold  them  in  degrading  bondage,  can 
not  entertain  any  clear  conceptions  of  right  and  wrong.  However 
this  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  men  who  deal  in  slaves,  are  ever 
regarded,  even  by  slaveholders,  as  destitute  of  moral  sentiment. 

In  this  case,  Milton,  finding  that  Judge  Cameron  had  reported 
the  claim  to  be  fraudulent  and  void,  professed  to  sell  his  interest 
in  these  people  to  certain  other  slaveholders,  of  Columbus.  These 
men  provided  themselves  with  chains,  and  fetters,  and  bloodhounds, 
and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  regular  slave-dealers  upon  the  African 
coast,  and  descending  the  river  in  a  steamboat,  intended  to  surprise 
their  victims  before  any  notice  should  be  given  of  their  approach. 
But  some  friendly  white,  who  had  learned  the  intentions  of  the 
pirates,  had  whispered  to  the  aged  chief  the  danger  which  threat- 
ened his  people.  They  were  soon  armed,  and  prepared  to  defend 
themselves  or  die  in  the  attempt.  The  desperadoes  landed  upon 
the  Reservation  ;  but  finding  the  people  armed,  and  ready  to  receive 
them  in  a  becoming  manner,  they  retired  into  the  country  and 
alarmed  the  settlers,  by  proclaiming  that  E-con-chattimico  had 
armed  his  people  and  was  about  to  make  war  upon  the  whites. 
The  news  flew  in  all  directions;  troops  were  mustered  into  service; 

(1)  Vido  Opinion  of  Judge  Cameron,  pages  35  and  36  of  Doc.  271,  last  quoted. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  91^ 

an  army  was  organized  and  marched  to  the  Reservation,  and  the 
proper  officer  sent,  with  a  white  flag,  to  demand  the  object  and  in- 
tentions of  the  chief,  in  arming  his  people.  The  old  man  was  most 
indignant  that  his  honor  should  be  impugned  in  such  manner.  He 
fully  explained  the  cause  which  induced  his  people  to  convene,  and 
assume  a  hostile  attitude  towards  those  who  had  come  to  rob  them 
of  their  liberty. 

The  officers,  who  sympathized  with  the  pirates,  were  sustained 
by  military  force.  They  assured  the  old  man  that  no  persons 
should  be  allowed  to  injure  him  or  his  people ;  that  the  country 
was  alarmed,  and  the  public  mind  could  only  be  pacified  by  a  sur- 
render of  his  arms  and  ammunition.  To  this  proposition  he  was 
constrained  to  yield.  They  took  his  arms  and  ammunition,  and 
left  him  defenseless.  They  remained  undisturbed,  however,  during 
the  night ;  but  the  next  morning  the  slave-hunters  returned,  fully 
armed.  They  seized  every  negro  residing  upon  the  Keservation, 
includins:  both  Exiles  and  the  slaves  of  E-con-chattimico,  and,  fast- 
ening  the  manacles  upon  their  limbs,  hurried  them  off  to  Georgia, 
where  they  were  sold  into  interminable  bondage.*  ^  They,  and  their 
ancestors,  had  enjoyed  a  hundred  years  of  freedom ;  but  they  were 
suddenly  precipitated  into  all  the  sufferings  and  sorrows  of  slavery, 
and  now  toil  in  chains,  or  have  departed  to  that  land  where  slavery 
is  unknown. 

E-con-chattiraico  petitioned  Congress  for  indemnity,  but  obtained 
no  redress.  Neither  the  President,  nor  the  Secretary  of  "War, 
manifested  any  interest  in  maintaining  our  most  solemn  treaty  obliga- 
tions with  the  Indians,  or  attempted  any  redress  for  their  violation. 
Disheartened  and  broken  down  in  spirits,  E-con-chattimico  yielded 

*  Note.— When  the  author,  in  1841,  denounced  this  transaction,  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  spoke  of  these  slave-catchers  as  Pirates,  Hon.  Mark  A.  Cooper,  of  Georgia, 
boeame  indignant  at  the  denunciation  ;  —  said  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  men  who 
seized  and  enslaved  these  people ;  that  they  were  honorable  men,  and  that  he  took  them 
by  the  hand  almost  daily  while  at  home. 

(1)  The  statement  of  these  facts  may  be  found  in  Ex.  Document,  1st  Sess.  XXIVth 
Congress. 


91^  THE    EXI  .iES    OF    FLORIDA. 

to  General  Jackson's  orders,  emigrated  to  the  western  country,  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  poverty  and  want. 

Nor  were  the  piracies  of  the  white  people  confined  to  the  crime 
of  kidnapping  Exiles.  They  robbed  the  Indians  and  Exiles  of 
horses,  cattle  and  money. 

A  chief  named  Blunt  also  held  a  reservation  on  the  river,  under 
the  treaty  of  Camp  Moultrie.  He  had  some  friends  among  the 
Exiles  who  preferred  to  occupy,  with  him,  one  of  the  plantations 
left  destitute  by  the  murder  of  the  people  at  "  Elount's  Fort,"  in 
1816.  He  too  had  named  his  friends  and  become  responsible  for 
their  conduct,  and  relied  upon  the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation  to 
protect  them. 

Some  desperadoes,  said  to  have  come  from  Georgia,  entered  his 
plantation,  robbed  him  of  a  large  amount  of  money,  and  carried 
away  all  the  negroes  living  on  the  Reserve. 

Another  chief  named  Walker,  also  residing  on  a  reservation,  with 
some  slaves  and  Exiles,  discovered  that  a  notorious  slave-catcher 
from  Georp;ia,  named  Douglass,  and  some  associates,  were  hanorinpj 
around  his  plantation,  with  the  apparent  intention  of  capturing  and 
enslaving  the  colored  people.  Warned  by  the  outrage  committed 
upon  E-con-chattimico  and  his  people,  both  Indians  and  negroes 
collected  together,  armed  themselves,  and  determined  to  resist  any 
violence  that  should  be  offered  them. 

When  the  piratical  Georgians  approached,  they  fired  upon  them. 
Finding  the  people  armed  and  determined  to  resist,  the  man- 
stealers  retreated  and  disappeared.  Feeling  they  were  in  danger, 
Walker  wrote  the  Agent  of  the  Seminoles,  caUing  for  protection, 
according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Camp  Moultrie. 
In  his  letter  he  says,  "Are  the  free  negroes  (Exiles),  and  negroes 
"belonging  to  this  town  (slaves),  to  be  stolen  away  publicly  in 
•*  the  face  of  law  and  justice — carried  off  and  sold  to  fill  the  pockets 
**  of  those  worse  than  land  pirates?" 

This  appeal  was  in  vain.  The  Agent  paid  no  attention  to  it. 
The  kidnappers  were  vigilant  and  watchful,  and  when  their  victims 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


98 


supposed  themselves  safe,  they  stole  upon  them,  seized  them,  and 
hurried  them  off  to  the  interior  of  Alabama,  and  sold  them  into 
slavery. 

The  scenes  so  often  witnessed  upon  the  slave  coast  of  Africa 
became  common  in  Florida;  while  Georgia,  and  Alabama,  and 
Florida,  afforded  a  class  of  men  in  no  respect  superior  in  morals  to 
those  outlaws  and  pirates  who  pursue  the  foreign  slave  trade. 

The  dangers  threatening  the  Exiles  now  became  imminent. 
They  saw  clearly  they  were  to  be  enslaved,  or  compelled  to  resort 
to  arms  in  defense  of  their  liberties.  Their  entire  influence  was 
exercised  to  prevent  emigration,  as  they  feared  that  would  subject 
them  to  Creek  jurisdiction  and  enslavement. 

These  objections  were  made  known  to  the  Department  at  Wash- 
ington by  the  Agent  of  the  Seminoles,  Wiley  Thompson,  who,  in 
plain  and  unmistakable  language,  informed  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affliirs,  that  the  principal  objection  to  removing  West 
which  operated  upon  the  minds  of  the  Seminoles  arose  from  the 
claim  of  the  Creeks  to  those  people  who  had  fled  from  Georgia 
prior  to  1802,  and  extending  back  to  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  War.  He  assured  the  Department,  that  if  the  Semi- 
noles were  compelled  to  remove  West,  these  descendants  of  the  Exiles 
would  be  enslaved  by  the  Creeks,  and  if  they  remained  in  Florida, 
they  would  be  enslaved  by  the  whites.  He  told  the  Department  in 
plain  language,  that  many  of  those  negroes  who  had  been  born  and 
raised  among  the  Indians  had  been  enslaved  by  the  people  of  Flor- 
ida and  of  Georgia,  and  were  then  held  in  bondage.^ 

Among  other  officers  who  espoused  the  cause  of  humanity  at  that 
period,  so  interesting  to  the  Exiles,  was  the  veteran  General  Clinch. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  probity  of  character.  One  of  the  most  gal- 
lant officers  in  the  service  was  at  the  time  in  actual  command  of  the 
troops  in  Florida.  He  had  long  been  acquainted  with  the  Indians, 
and  no  man  perhaps  better  understood  the  character  of  the  Exiles. 
He  had  twenty  years  before  commanded  the  troops  at  the  massacre 

(1)  Vide  Ex.  Doc.,  1st  Sess.  XXIVth  Congress,  page  104. 


m 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 


of  "Blount's  Fort,"  and  well  understood  the  persecutions  to  which 
the  Exiles  had  been  subjected.  In  strong  language,  he  pointed  out 
the  wrong  about  to  be  perpetrated  upon  them,  as  well  as  upon  the 
Seminoles.  He  informed  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  direct  and  posi 
tive  language,  that  if  the  Seminoles  and  their  "  negro  allies"  were 
sent  West,  the  negroes  would  he  enslaved  by  the  Creeks.^ 

Hon.  John  H.  Eaton,  Governor  of  Florida,  a  warm  personal  and 
political  friend  of  the  President,  in  whom  it  was  believed  the  Exec 
utive  reposed  great  confidence,  also  wrote  the  department,  delineating 
the  wrongs  about  to  be  perpetrated  upon  these  colored  people,  who 
for  several  generations  had  resided  with  the  Seminoles. 

These  and  other  officers  of  Government  united  in  the  opinion, 
that  these  '' negroes, ^^  as  they  were  generally  called,  exerted  a  con- 
ta-oUing  influence  over  the  Indians,  and  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to 
attempt  the  removal  of  the  Indians  under  these  circumstances. 

To  these  remonstrances,  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  War,  General 
Cass,  replied,  with  apparent  determination  to  remove  the  Indians  at 
any  expense  of  blood,  of  treasure,  and  of  national  reputation.  The 
appeals  made  to  the  justice  of  our  Government  were  stigmatized 
"  as  the  promptings  of  b.  false  philanthropy  f^  and  our  agents  and 
officers  were  directed  to  inform  the  Seminoles,  in  peremptory  Ian 
guage,  that  they  must  emigrate  to  the  western  country. 

Laboring  under  the  delusion  that  official  station  would  add  a  con 
trolling  influence  to  his  language.  General  Cass  transmitted  to  the 
Indian  Agent  a  speech,  addressed  to  the  Seminoles  and  their  allies, 
in  which  he  endeavored  to  persuade  them  to  emigrate  and  join  the 
Creeks,  and  subject  themselves  to  Creek  authority.  The  Seminoles 
and  their  friends  listened  to  the  speech  with  that  respectful  atten- 
tion which  would  be  expected  from  men  who  knew  their  lives  and 
liberties  were  in  danger. 

It  was  at  one  of  these  consultations,  in  the  presence  of  their 
Agent,  that  "  Osceola,"  at  that  time  a  young  warrior,  attracted 
attention  by  saying,  "  this  is  the  only  treaty  I  will  ever  make  with 

(1)  Vide  his  letter  at  length  in  the  Document  last  quoted. 


THE   EXILES    OF   FLORIDA.  95 

''the  whites ;^^  at  the  same  time  drawing  his  knife  and  striking  it 
forcibly  into  the  table  before  him.^ 

It  was  at  this  period  that  abandoned  white  men  conceived  the 
plan  of  buying  negroes  from  Seminoles  while  in  a  state  of  intoxica- 
tion, and  selling  them  to  the  white  people.  If  they  could  get  an 
Indian  drunk,  they  could  of  course  obtain  from  him  a  bill  of  sale 
of  any  negro  they  pleased,  whether  the  Indian  had  any  title  to  him 
or  not.  This  plan  of  separating  the  Seminoles  from  their  colored 
friends,    it  was  thought  would  conduce  to  their  removal. 

Applications  to  enter  the  Indian  Territory  for  the  purpose  of  pur- 
cliasiiig  slaves  were  referred  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the  Com- 
missioner of  Indian  Affairs,  and  by  the  latter  oflficer  to  the  Attorney 
General  Felix  Grundy,  who  gravely  reported,  that' he  "  saw  no  good 
"  reason  why  the  white  people  should  not  be  permitted  to  buy  slaves 
"  of  the  Indians;"  and  the  President  having  considered  the  matter, 
ordered  permission  to  be  granted  for  that  purpose. 

Officers  who  were  in  Florida  saw  at  once  that  this  policy  would 
kindle  the  smothered  indignation  of  the  Indians  and  Exiles  into  a 
flame.  The  Agent  of  the  Seminoles,  refusing  to  obey  the  orders 
thus  given,  remonstrated  against  the  policy  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
the  head  of  the  Department,  in  which  he  says :  "  The  remark  in 
"  your  letter  that  it  is  not  presumed  the  condition  of  these  negroes 
"  (the  Exiles)  would  be  worse  than  that  of  others  in  the  same  sec- 
"  tion  of  country  is  true  ;  yet  you  will  agree  that  the  same  remark 
**  would  apply  to  you,  to  me,  or  to  any  other  individual  of  the 
"  United  States,  as  we  should,  if  subjected  to  slavery,  be  in  the 
"precise  condition  of  other  slaves." 

So  general  and  so  great  was  the  indignation  excited  by  this  order 
for  establishing  a  commerce  in  human  flesh  with  drunken  Seminoles, 
that  it  was  soon  after  countermanded ;  yet  the  immediate  emigra- 
tion of  the  Indians  was  urged  with  increased  earnestness,  although 
the  Department  of  War  was  informed  by  nearly  every  officer  in  the 
military  and  Indian  service  of  Florida,  that  they  could  not  be  in- 

(1)  Vide  Sprague's  Florida  War. 


96  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

duced  to  emigrate,  so  long  as  the  Exiles  should  be  regarded  as  in 
danger  of  being  subjected  to  Creek  authority. 

But  the  stern  decree  had  gone  forth  that  "  the  Indians  should 
prepare  to  emigrate  West  and  join  the  Greeks  ;' '  and  the  necessary 
preparations  were  hurried  forward  both  in  the  Military  and  Civil 
Departments  of  Government.  The  Exiles  and  Seminoles  saw 
clearly  the  terrible  alternative  to  which  they  were  soon  to  be  driven, 
and  they  turned  their  attention  to  active  preparations  for  the  con- 
flict. Their  crops  were  carefully  secured  ;  their  cattle  driven  far 
into  the  interior;  and  their  women  and  children  removed  from 
the  frontier  to  places  of  safety.  They  omitted  no  opportunity  of 
securing  powder  and  lead ;  and  while  associating  with  the  white 
people,  they  manifested  a  bold  contempt  and  dislike  for  them,  which 
gave  gloomy  forebodings  of  the  future. 


i 


CHAPTER     VII. 

COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  SECOND  SEMINOLE  WAR. 

The  number  of  Exiles  in  Florida  —  Spanish  Maroons  —  Seminole  Slaves  —  Osceola  —  His 
Parentage  —  His  Character  —  His  Wife— Her  Parentage  and  sad  Fate  —  Imprisonment 
of  Osceola — His  Release  —  He  swears  Vengeance  against  Mr.  Thompson  —  Decree  of 
General  Council  —  Fate  of  Charley  E.  Mathler  —  Osceola  and  followers  seek  the  life  of 
Thompson  —  Lay  in  wait  near  Fort  King  —  Fate  of  Mr.  Thompson  and  Lieut.  Smith  — 
Of  the  Sutler  and  his  Clerks  —  General  Clinch  orders  Major  Dade  to  Fort  King  — The 
Major  seeks  a  faithful  Guide  —  Engages  the  Services  of  Louis,  a  Slave  —  His  Learning  and 
Character  —  He  meditates  the  Massacre  of  Dade  and  his  men  —  Councils  with  the  Exiles 
—  Arranges  the  plan  of  Massacre,  and  informs  them  of  the  time  —  Exiles  and  Indians 
rendezvous  in  Wahoo  Swamp  —  Dade's  Approach  —  The  preparation  —  The  Massacre  — 
Osceola  and  Louis  —  The  Exiles  and  Indians  again  meet  in  the  Swamp  for  the  nght — 
Digression  —  Incidents. 

The  number  of  Exiles  at  the  coramencement  of  the  Second  Semi- 
nole War,  has  been  variously  estimated.  Probably  their  whole 
number,  including  women  and  children,  was  not  less  than  twelve 
hundred.  To  these  may  be  added  the  slaves  belonging  to  the 
Seminoles,  estimated  at  two  hundred,  making  a  population  of  four- 
teen hundred  blacks.  Most  of  the  slaves  lived  with  the  Exiles, 
separate  and  apart  from  their  masters,  paying  a  certain  quantity  of 
vegetables  annually,  for  the  partial  freedom  which  they  enjoyed. 
There  were  many  half-breeds,  however,  some  of  whom  resided  with 
the  Indians,  and  others  were  located  with  the  Exiles. 

The  Spanish  population  called  the  Exiles  "  Maroons,"  after  a 
cla.ss  of  free  negroes  who  inhabit  the  mountains  of  Cuba,  Jamaica, 
and  other  West  Indian  islands.     Indeed,  some  of  the  Maroons  of 

7  (97) 


yH  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

Cuba  appear  to  have  found  their  way  to  Florida,^  and  many  of  the 
Exiles  passed  from  that  Territory  to  the  West  India  Islands. 
Many  officers  of  Government  appear  to  have  known  or  cared  little 
for  these  people,  while  others  manifested  much  intelligence  and  hu- 
manity in  regard  to  them.  We  have  already  noticed  the  efforts  of 
Mr.  Thompson,  the  Indian  Agent,  of  Colonel  Clinch,  and  of  Colonel 
Eaton,  in  behalf  of  the  Exiles,  who  had  long  resided  in  Florida. 

During  the  summer,  the  Indians  committed  various  depredations 
upon  the  white  people,  such  as  stealing  horses  and  killing  cattle ; 
but  the  first  open  hostilities  occurred  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  De- 
cember, when  two  important  and  bloody  tragedies  took  place,  which 
left  the  country  no  longer  in  doubt  as  to  the  actual  existence  of  war. 

A  young  and  gallant  warrior,  named  Osceola,  was  the  principal 
actor  in  one  of  these  scenes.  He  was  the  son  of  an  Indian  trader, 
a  white  man,  named  Powell.  His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  a 
Seminole  chief. 

He  had  recently  married  a  woman  said  to  have  been  beautiful. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  a  chief  who  had  married  one  of  the  Exiles  ; 
but  as  all  colored  people  by  slaveholding  laws  are  said  to  follow 
the  condition  of  the  mother,  she  was  called  an  African  slave.  Osce- 
ola was  proud  of  his  ancestry.  He  hated  slavery,  and  those  who 
practiced  the  holding  of  slaves,  with  a  bitterness  that  is  but  little 
understood  by  those  who  have  never  witnessed  its  revolting  crimes. 

He  visited  Fort  King,  in  company  with  his  wife  and  a  few 
friends,  for  the  purpose  of  trading.  Mr.  Thompson,  the  Agent,  was 
present,  and,  while  engaged  in  business,  the  wife  of  Osceola  was 
seized  as  a  slave.  Evidently  having  negro  blood  in  her  veins,  the 
law  pronounced  her  a  slave ;  and,  as  no  other  person  could  show 
title  to  her,  the  pirate  who  had  got  possession  of  her  body,  was  sup- 
posed of  course  to  be  ker  owner. 

(1)  Licutenat  Reynolds,  while  conducting  the  first  party  of  emigrants  West,  in  1841, 
found  among  the  Exiles  persons  who  posst'ssed  so  much  Spanish  blood,  that  he  offered  fco 
leave  them  at  New  Orleans,  and  some  of  them  accepted  the  offer.  He  left  them  in  that 
city,  and  they  probably  now  pass  for  Spaniards. 


TUB    EXILES    OP    FLORIDA.  99 

Osceola  became  frantic  with  rage,  but  was  instantly  seized  and 
placed  in  irons,  while  his  wife  was  hurried  away  to  slaveholding 
pollution.^  He  remained  six  days  in  irons,  when,  General  Thomp- 
son says,  he  became  penitent,  and  was  released. 

From  the  moment  when  this  outrage  was  committed,  the  Florida 
War  may  be  regarded  as  commenced.  Osceola  swore  vengeance 
upon  Thompson,  and  those  who  assisted  in  the  perpetration  of  this 
indignity  upon  himself,  as  well  as  upon  his  wife,  and  upon  our  com- 
mon humanity. 

The  Exiles  endeavored  to  stimulate  the  Indians  to  deeds  of 
valor.  In  general  council,  they  decreed  that  the  first  Seminole 
who  should  make  any  movement  preparatory  to  emigration,  should 
suffer  death.  Charley  E.  Mathler,  a  respected-  chief,  soon  after 
fell  a  victim  to  this  decree.  Osceola  commanded  the  party  who 
slew  him.  He  had  sold  a  portion  of  his  cattle  to  the  whites, 
for  which  he  had  received  pay  in  gold.  This  money  was  found 
upon  his  person  when  he  fell.  Osceola  forbadfe  any  one  touch- 
ing the  gold,  saying  it  was  the  price  of  the  red  man's  blood , 
and  with  his  own  hands  he  scattered  it  in  different  directions  as  far 
as  he  was  able  to  throw  it. 

But  his  chief  object  appeared  to  have  been  the  death  of  General 
Thompson.  Other  Indians  and  Exiles  were  preparing  for  other 
important  operations  ;  but  Osceola  seemed  intent,  his  whole  soul 
was  absorbed,  in  devising  some  plan  by  which  he  could  safely  reach 
Mr.  Thompson,  who  was  the  object  of  his  vengeance. .  He,  or  some 
of  his  friends,  kept  constant  watch  on  the  movements  of  Thompson, 
who  was  unconscious  of  the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed. 
Osceola,  steady  to  his  purpose,  refused  to  be  diverted  from  this 

(1)  Vide  account  of  this  transaction  by  M.  M.  Cohen,  given  in  the  Quarterly  Anti-Sla- 
very Magazine,  vol.  II,  page  419.  Mr.  Thompson,  the  Agent,  in  his  letter  to  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs,  bearing  date  soon  after,  says  :  "  Powell  used  such  language,  that 
I  was  constrained  to  order  him  into  irons."  Mr.  Spnqjue,  in  his  history  of  the  Florida 
War,  reiterates  the  statement  of  Mr.  Thompson.  But  neither  Sprague,  nor  Thompson,  nor 
any  other  person  who  was  present,  it  is  believed,  has  ever  denied  the  relation  which  Mr. 
Cohen  has  given. 


100  THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

favorite  object.  Thompson  was  at  Fort  King,  and  there  were  but 
few  troops  to  protect  that  fortress.  But  Indians  seldom  attempt 
an  escalade,  and  Osceola  sought  an  opportunity  to  take  it  by 
surprise.  With  some  twenty  followers,  he  lay  secreted  near  the 
fort  for  days  and  weeks,  determined  to  find  some  opportunity  to 
enter  by  the  open  gate,  when  the  troops  should  be  off  their  guard. 

Near  the  close  of  December,  a  runner  brought  him  information 
that  Major  Dade,  with  his  command,  was  to  leave  Fort  Brooke  on  the 
twenty-fifth  of  that  month,  and  that  those  who  intended  to  share  in 
the  attack  upon  that  regiment,  must  be  at  the  great  "  Wahoo 
Swamp,"  by  the  evening  of  the  twenty-seventh.  This  had  no  effect 
whatever  upon  Osceola.  No  circumstance  could  withdraw  him 
from  the  bloody  purpose  which  filled  his  soul. 

On  the  twenty-eighth,  in  the  afternoon,  as  he  and  his  followers 
lay  near  the  road  leading  from  the  fort  to  the  house  of  the  sutler, 
which  was  nearly  a  mile  distant,  they  saw  Mr.  Thompson  and  a  friend 
approaching.  That  gentleman  and  his  companions  had  dined,  and, 
on  taking  their  cigars,  he  and  Lieut.  Smith,  of  the  SeCond  Artillery, 
had  sallied  forth  for  a  walk,  and  to  enjoy  conversation  by  them- 
selves. 

At  a  signal  given  by  Osceola,  the  Indians  fired.  Thompson  fell, 
pierced  by  fourteen  balls;  Smith  received  about  as  many. ^  The 
shrill  war-whoop  followed  the  sound  of  the  rifles,  and  alarmed  the 
people  at  the  fort.  The  Indians  immediately  scalped  their  victims, 
and  then  hastened  to  the  house,  where  Mr.  Rogers,  the  sutler,  and 
two  clerks,  were  at  dinner.  These  three  persons  were  instantly 
massacred  and  scalped.  The  Indians  took  as  many  valuable  goods 
as  they  could  carry,  and  set  fire  to  the  building.  The  smoke  gave 
notice  to  those  in  the  fort  of  the  fate  that  had  befallen  the  sutler  and 
his  clerks.  But  the  condition  in  which  the  commandant  found  his 
troops,  forbade  his  sending  out  any  considerable  force  to  ascertain 
the  fate  of  Thompson  and  his  companion.  Near  nightfall,  a  few 
daring  spirits  proceeded  up  the  road  to  the  hommock,  and  brought 

(1)  Sprague's  History  of  the  Florida  War. 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  101 

the  bodies  to  the  fort;  but  Osceola  and  his  followers  had  hastened 
their  flight,  not  from  fear  of  the  troops,  but  with  the  hope  of  join- 
ing their  companions  at  Wahoo  in  time  to  engage  in  scenes  of  more 
general  interest. 

General  Clinch  had  foreseen  that  hostilities  were  unavoidable, 
and,  as  early  as  the  fifteenth  of  November,  had  sought  to  increase 
the  number  of  troops  at  Fort  King  by  such  reinforcements  as  could 
be  spared  from  other  stations.  For  this  purpose,  he  ordered  Major 
Dade,  then  at  Fort  Brooke,  near  Tampa  Bay,  to  prepare  his  com- 
mand for  a  march  to  Fort  King.  The  distance  was  one  hundred 
and  thirty  miles,  through  an  unsettled  forest,  much  diversified  with 
swamps,  lakes  and  horn  mocks.  No  officer  nor  soldier  could  bo 
found  who  was  acquainted  with  the  route,  and  a  guide  was  indis- 
pensable :  yet  men  competent  to  the  discharge  of  so  important  a 
trust  were  rarely  to  be  found,  for  the  lives  of  the  regiment  might 
depend  upon  the  intelligence  and  fidelity  of  their  conductor. 

At  this  point  in  our  history,  even  before  the  commencement  of 
general  hostilities,  we  are  led  to  the  acquaintance  of  one  of  the  most 
romantic  characters  who  bore  part  in  the  stirring  scenes  of  that  day. 
On  making  inquiry  for  a  suitable  guide,  the  attention  of  Major 
Dade  was  directed  to  a  colored  man  named  Louis.  He  was  the 
slave  of  one  of  the  old  and  respectable  Spanish  families,  named 
Pacheco,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Brooke.  Major  Dade 
applied  to  the  master,  Antonio  Pacheco,  for  information  concerning 
his  slave,  and  was  assured  that  Louis,  then  near  thirty  years  of 
age,  was  one  of  the  most  faithful,  intelligent,  and  trustworthy  men 
he  had  ever  known.  He  had  also  been  well  bred,  was  polite,  ac- 
complished, and  learned.  He  read,  wrote,  and  spoke,  with  facility, 
the  Spanish,  French,  and  English  languages,  and  spoke  the  Indian, 
and  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the  route  to  Fort  King,  having  fre- 
quently traveled  it. 

Pleased  with  the  character  and  appearance  of  Louis,  Major  Dade 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  master  for  his  services  in  con- 
ducting the  troops  through  the  forest  to  Fort  King,  at  the  rate  of 


102 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


twenty-five  dollars  per  month,  and  stated  the  time  at  which  the  ser- 
vice was  to  commence.  The  contract  was  made  in  the  presence  of 
Louis,  who  listened  attentively  to  the  whole  arrangement,  to  which 
he  of  course  gave  his  own  consent. 

Louis  Pacheco  was  too  enlightened  to  smother  the  better  sympa- 
thies of  the  human  heart.  He  was  well  informed,  and  understood 
the  efforts  that  were  making  to  reenslave  his  brethren,  the  Exiles. 
With  many  of  them  he  had  long  been  acquainted ;  he  had  witnessed 
the  persecutions  to  which  they  had  been  subjected,  the  outrages 
heaped  upon  them,  and  now  saw  clearly  the  intention  to  subject 
them  to  slavery  among  the  Creeks.  He  had  spent  his  own  life  thus 
far  in  servitude,  and,  although  his  condition  was  regarded  with  envy 
by  the  plantation  servants  around  him,  he  yet  sighed  for  freedom. 

Blessed  with  an  intellect  of  no  ordinary  mould,  he  reflected 
deeply  upon  his  condition,  and  determined  upon  his  course.  Hos- 
tilities had  not  yet  commenced,  and  he  was  in  the  daily  habit  of 
conversing  with  Indians,  and  often  with  Exiles.  He  was  well 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  each,  and  knew  the  men  to  whom 
he  could  communicate  important  information  with  safety.  To  a  few 
of  the  Exiles,  men  of  integrity  and  boldness,  he  imparted  the  facts 
that  Dade,  with  his  troops,  would  leave  Fort  Brooke  about  the 
twenty-fifth  of  December,  for  Fort  King,  and  that  he,  Louis,  was 
to  act  as  their  guide ;  that  he  would  conduct  them  by  the  trail 
leading  near  the  Great  Wahoo  Swamp,  and  pointed  out  the  proper 
place  for  an  attack.^ 

This  information  was  soon  made  known  to  the  leading  and  active 
Exiles,  and  to  a  few  of  the  Seminole  chiefs  and  warriors.  The  Ex- 
iles, conscious  that  the  war  was  to  be  waged  on  their  account,  were 
anxious  to  give  their  friends  some  suitable  manifestation  of  their 
prowess.  They  desired  as  many  of  the  Exiles  capable  of  bearing 
arms  as  could  assemble  at  a  certain  point  in  the  Great  Wahoo 
Swamp,  to  meet  them  there  as  early  as  the  twenty-seventh  of  De 

(1)  Vido  Testimony  accompanying  Pacheco's  Petition  to  Congress  for  indemnity. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  103 

cember,  armed,  and  prepared  to  commence  the  war  by  a  proper 
demonstration  of  their  gallantry. 

Information  was  sent  to  Osceola  and  his  followers,  inviting  them 
to  be  present.  They  were  lying  secreted  near  Fort  King,  too  intent 
upon  the  death  of  Thompson  to  turn  their  eyes  for  a  moment  fi-om 
their  victim.  Plowever,  many  other  chiefs  and  warriors  assembled 
at  the  time  and  place  designated,  in  order  to  witness  what  they 
supposed  would  be  the  first  scene  in  the  great  drama  about  to  be 
acted.  Their  spies  detached  for  that  purpose,  arrived  at  their  ren- 
dezvous almost  hourly,  bringing  information  of  the  commencement 
of  Dade's  march,  the  number  of  men  forming  his  battalion,  and 
their  places  of  encampment  each  night. 

In  the  evening  of  the  twenty-seventh,  their  patrols  brought  word 
that  Dade  and  his  men  had  arrived  within  three  miles  of  the  point 
at  which  they  intended  to  attack  them.  Of  course  every  prepara- 
tion was  now  made  for  placing  themselves  in  ambush  at  an  early 
hour,  along  the  trail  in  which  it  was  expected  the  troops  would  pass. 
The  scouts  reported  that  precisely  one  hundred  and  ten  men  consti- 
tuted the  force  which  they  expected  to  encounter,  and  the  official 
report  fully  confirms  the  accuracy  of  their  intelligence.  The  Ex- 
iles looked  to  the  coming  day  with  great  intensity  of  feeling.  More 
than  two  hundred  years  since,  their  ancestors  had  been  piratically 
seized  in  their  own  country,  and  forcibly  torn  from  their  friends  — 
from  the  land  of  their  nativity.  For  a  time  they  submitted  to  de- 
grading bondage  ;  but  more  than  a  century  had  elapsed  since  they 
fled  from  South  Carolina,  and  found  an  asylum  under  Spanish  law 
in  the  wilds  of  Florida.  There  their  fathers  and  mothers  had  been 
buried.  They  had  often  visited  their  graves,  and  mourned  over  the 
sad  fate  to  which  their  race  appeared  to  be  doomed.  For  fifty  years 
they  had  been  subjected  to  almost  constant  persecution  at  the  hands 
of  our  Government.  The  blood  of  their  fathers,  brothers  and 
friends,  massacred  at  "  Blount's  Fourt,"  was  yet  unavenged.  They 
had  seen  individuals  from  among  them  piratically  seized  and  en- 
slaved.     Their  friends,   residing  with  E  con-chattimico  and  with 


104  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

Walker,  had  been  openly  and  flagrantly  kidnapped,  and  sold  into 
interminable  servitude,  where  they  were  then  sighing  and  moaning 
in  degrading  bondage.  In  looking  forward,  they  read  their  intended 
doom,  clearly  written  in  the  slave  codes  of  Florida  and  the  adjoin- 
ing States,  which  could  only  be  avoided  by  their  most  determined 
resistance.  If  they  behaved  worthy  of  men  in  their  condition,  their 
influence  with  their  savage  allies  would  be  confirmed,  and  they  would 
be  able  to  control  their  action  on  subsequent  occasions.  Every  con- 
sideration, therefore,  tended  to  nerve  them  to  the  work  of  death 
which  lay  before  them. 

In  the  meantime,  their  victims  were  reposing  at  only  four  or  five 
miles  distant  in  conscious  security.  Their  encampment  had  been 
selected  according  to  military  science.  The  men  and  officers  were 
encamped  in  scientific  order.  Their  guards  were  placed,  their 
patrols  sent  out,  and  every  precaution  taken  to  prevent  surprise. 
They  had  seen  service,  and  cheerfully  encountered  its  hardships, 
privations  and  dangers,  but  had  no  suspicion  of  the  fate  that  awaited 
them  on  the  coming  day. 

At  early  dawn,  the  men  were  paraded,  the  roll  called,  and  the 
order  for  regulating  the  day's  march  given.  They  were  then  dis- 
missed for  breakfast,  and  at  eight  o'clock,  resumed  their  march,  and 
proceeded  on  their  way  in  the  full  expectation  of  reaching  their  des- 
tination by  the  evening  of  that  day. 

But  the  insidious  foe  had  been  equally  vigilant.  They  had  left 
their  island  encampment  with  the  first  light  of  the  morning,  and 
each  had  taken  his  position  along  the  trail  in  which  the  troops  were 
expected  to  march,  but  at  some  thirty  or  forty  yards  distant.  Each 
man  was  hidden  by  a  tree,  which  was  to  be  his  fortress  during  the 
expected  action.  A  few  rods  on  the  other  side  of  the  trail  lay  a 
pond  of  water,  whose  placid  surface  reflected  the  glittering  rays  of 
the  morning  sun.  All  was  peaceful  and  quiet  as  the  breath  of 
summer. 

Unsuspicious  of  the  hidden  death  which  beset  their  pathway,  the 
troops  entered  this  defile,  and  passed  along  until  their  rear  had  come 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  105 

within  the  range  of  the  enemies'  rifles,  when,  at  a  given  signal, 
each  warrior  fired,  while  his  victim  was  in  full  view  and  unprotected. 
One-half  of  that  ill-fated  band,  including  the  gallant  Dade,  fell  at 
the  first  fire.  The  remainder  were  thrown  into  disorder.  The  ofii- 
cers  endeavored  to  rally  them  into  line  ;  but  their  enemy  was  unseen, 
and  ere  they  could  return  an  effective  shot,  a  second  discharge  from 
the  hidden  foe  laid  one-half  their  remaining  force  prostrate  in  death. 
The  survivors  retreated  a  short  distance  toward  their  encampment 
of  the  previous  night,  and,  while  most  of  the  Exiles  and  Indians 
were  engaged  in  scalping  the  dead  and  tomahawking  those  who 
were  disabled,  they  formed  a  hasty  breastwork  of  logs  for  their  de- 
fense. They  were,  however,  soon  invested  by  the  enemy,  and  the 
few  who  had  taken  shelter  behind  their  rude  defenses  were  over- 
come and  massacred  by  the  Exiles,  who  conversed  with  them  in 
English,  and  then  dispatched  them.^  Only  two  individuals  beside 
Louis,  the  guide,  made  their  escape.  Their  gallant  commander, 
his  officers  and  soldiers,  whose  hearts  had  beat  high  with  expecta- 
tion in  the  morning,  at  evening  lay  prostrate  in  death ;  and  as  the 
sable  victors  relaxed  from  their  bloody  work,  they  congratulated 
each  other  on  having  revenged  the  death  of  those  who,  twenty  years 
previously,  had  fallen  at  the  massacre  of  "Blount's  Fort."  The 
loss  of  the  allied  forces  was — three  killed  and  five  wounded. 

After  burying  their  own  dead,  they  returned  to  the  island  in  the 
swamp  long  before  nightfall.  To  this  point,  they  brought  the  spoils 
of  victory,  which  were  deemed  important  for  carrying  on  the  war. 
Night  had  scarcely  closed  around  them,  however,  when  Osceola  and 
his  followers  arrived  from  Fort  King,  bringing  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  Thompson  and  Lieutenant  Smith,  together  with  the  sutler 
and  his  two  clerks.  There,  too,  was  Louis,  the  guide  to  Dade's 
command.  He  was  now  free  1  He  engaged  in  conversation  with 
his  sable  friends.  Well  knowing  the  time  and  place  at  which  the 
attack  was  to  be  made,  he  had  professed  necessity  for  stopping  by 


I 


(1)  Vide  Statement  of  Tustenuggee,  a  Seminole  Chief,  who  was  present,  and  whose  ac- 
count of  this  massacre  is  given  in  Sprague's  History  of  the  Florida  War. 


106  THE    EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

the  way-side  before  entering  the  defile  ;  thus  separating  himself  from 
the  troops  and  from  danger.  Soon  as  the  first  fire  showed  him  the 
precise  position  of  his  friends,  he  joined  them ;  and  swearing  eter- 
nal hostility  to  all  who  enslave  their  fellow  men,  lent  his  own  efforts 
in  carrying  forward  the  work  of  death,  until  the  last  individual  of 
that  doomed  regiment  sunk  beneath  their  tomahawks. 

The  massacre  of  the  unfortunate  Dade  and  his  companions,  and 
the  murder  of  Thompson  and  his  friends,  at  Fort  King,  occurred 
on  the  same  day,  and  constituted  the  opening  scenes  of  the  second 
Seminole  War. 

1 817  1  ^^^  bespeak  the  indulgence  of  the  reader,  while  we  di- 
gress from  the  chronological  narration  of  events  which  fol- 
lowed consecutively  upon  this  opening  of  the  second  Seminole  War, 
in  order  to  give  a  short  sketch  of  some  incidents  which  occurred  in 
Congress,  and  were  connected  with  the  employment  of  Louis,  and 
his  subsequent  service  with  the  enemy. 

Twelve  years  after  the  massacre  of  Dade's  command,  Antonio 
Pacheco  presented  his  petition  to  Congress,  setting  forth  that  he  had 
been  the  owner  of  a  valuable  slave  named  Louis ;  that  he  hired  him 
as  guide  to  Major  Dade  to  conduct  his  command  from  "Fort 
Brooke  "  to  "Fort  King;"  that  at  the  time  of  Dade's  defeat,  Louis 
had  been  captured  hy  the  Indians,  and  by  them  had  been  subse- 
quently surrendered  to  Major  General  Jessup,  and  by  that  ofiicer 
sent  to  the  Indian  country,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  whereby  he 
became  lost  to  his  owner,  who,  therefore,  prayed  Congress  to  grant 
him  full  indemnity  for  his  loss. 

Among  the  proofs  accompanying  this  petition  was  a  letter  from 
General  Jessup,  setting  forth  that,  after  Louis  had  been  employed 
to  act  as  guide,  he  had  kept  up  a  correspondence  with  the  "Semi- 
nole negroes,"  informing  them  of  the  intended  march  of  Major 
Dade,  etc.  He  also  represented  Louis  as  a  man  of  extraordinary 
intellect  and  learning,  declaring  that  he  regarded  him  as  a  danger- 
ous man ;  that  he  would  have  had  him  tried  and  hanged,  instead  of 
sending  him  West,  if  he  had  found  leisure  to  att<ind  to  it ;  that 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  107 

from  prudential  motives  he  had  sent  him  to  the  Indian  country ;  and 
stated  that  he  was  worth  a  thousand  dollars. 

The  case  was  most  interesting  in  its  character.  Louis  was  proba- 
bly the  most  dangerous  enemy  of  the  United  States  at  that  time  in 
Florida.  With  his  intelligence,  he  must  have  felt  an  inveterate 
hostility  to  the  Government  and  the  people,  who  robbed  him  of  his 
most  sacred  right  to  liberty.  Probably  his  former  master  and  fam- 
ily were  in  greater  danger  from  his  vengeance  than  any  other  per- 
sons. He  had  surrendered  to  General  Jessup  as  prisoner  of  war 
with  arms  in  his  hands;  had  been  treated — very  properly  treated  — 
as  a  prisoner  of  war  :  therefore,  the  master  called  on  the  people  of 
the  nation  to  pay  him  a  thousand  dollars  for  protecting  him,  his 
family,  friends  and  nation  from  the  fury  of  his  own  slave  ;  and 
General  Jessup  and  many  Northern  Representatives  exerted  their 
personal  and  political  influence  to  sustain  the  claim. 

The  petition  and  accompanying  papers  were  referred  to  the  com- 
mittee on  Military  Affairs,  a  majority  of  whom  were  known  to  be 
favorable  to  the  interests  of  slavery.  At  the  head  of  it  was  the 
Hon.  Armisted  Burt,  of  South  Carolina,  a  man  of  intelligence  and 
influence.  He  appeared  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  "  peculiar 
institution." 

Having  examined  the  case,  he  presented  it  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  committee,  and  a  majority  at  once  agreed 
to  sustain  a  bill  giving  to  the  owner  a  fair  compensation  for  the 
loss  of  his  slave.     The  Chairman  agreed  to  draw  up  a  report  sus- 
taining the  bill,  and  present  it  to  the  committee  the  next  morning. 

Hon.  John  Dickey,  of  Beaver  County,  Pennsylvania,  now  de- 
ceased, was  also  a  member  of  the  committee.  He  boarded  at  the 
same  house  with  the  author  of  this  narrative.  While  at  tea  that 
evening,  Mr.  Dickey  remarked,  that  his  committee  were  about  to 
report  a  bill  to  pay  for  this  slave,  and  said,  if  he  were  familiar  with 
the  subject,  he  would  draw  up  a  minority  report  against  the  bill. 
A  gentleman  sitting  at  the  table  remarked,  that  other  gentlemen, 
who  were  familiar  with  the  subject,  would  doubtless  feel  willing  to 


108  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

lend  him  any  aid  in  their  power.  All  however  agreed,  that  an 
evening  was  too  short  a  time  to  draw  up  a  suitable  report  on  so 
important  a  question  ;  yet  it  was  known  that  slaveholders  controlled 
the  action  of  the  House,  and  they  showed  no  courtesy  to  those 
opposed  to  the  "  peculiar  institution,"  and  would  of  course  grant  no 
time  to  draw  up  a  minority  report.  After  tea,  Mr.  Dickey  and 
another  gentleman  retired  to  a  room  by  themselves,  and  before  sun- 
rise the  next  morning,  had  completed  the  report,  which  now  appears 
among  the  House  Documents,  Thirtieth  Congress,  first  session, 
numbered  187,  filling  sixteen  heavy  octavo  pages  of  printed  matter. 
At  ten  o'clock  the  committee  met,  and,  having  listened  to  the  report 
of  their  Chairman,  they  were  called  on  to  hear  that  of  Mr.  Dickey,, 
which  took  distinct  and  unmistakable  grounds  against  the  right  of 
men  to  hold  their  fellow-beings  as  property,  under  the  Federal 
Constitution.  This  case  furnishes  the  first  instance  in  which  the 
records  of  the  nation  show  a  minority  report  from  any  committee 
against  slavery.  Mr.  Dickey,  having  taken  his  position,  stood 
firmly  upon  the  doctrines  he  had  avowed  in  his  report ;  and  the 
other  members  of  the  committee  took  their  choice  between  the  report 
of  Mr.  Burt  and  that  of  Mr.  Dickey. 

General  Dudley  Marvin,  of  New  York,  General  James  Wilson, 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  Hon.  David  Fisher,  of  Ohio,  signed  the 
report  of  Mr.  Dickey;  while  the  four  Democratic  members,  all  of 
whom  resided  in  the  slave  States,  signed  that  of  Mr.  Burt.  So  far 
as  the  committee  were  concerned,  the  five  Democratic  members 
assumed  the  position  now  occupied  by  that  party,  to  wit,  that  under 
our  Federal  Constitution,  man  may  hold,  sell  and  transfer  human 
beings  as  property ;  while  the  four  Whig  members  based  their 
action  upon  the  doctrine  now  occupied  by  the  Republican  party — 
that,  under  our  Federal  Constitution,  men  cannot  be  transformed 
into  brutes ;  nor  can  one  man  hold  property  in  another. 

The  reports  of  the  majority  and  minority  were  printed,  and  at- 
tracted attention  among  the  members ;  but  the  bill  did  not  come  up 
for  discussion  until  the  next  session.     On  the  twenty-third  of  the 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  109 

following  December,  the  eonimittoe  of  the  whole  House,  in  passing 
through  its  calendar  of  private  claims,  reached  this  case.  Mr. 
Dickey  led  off  in  a  short,  but  well-arranged  argument,  sustaining  his 
report.  His  remarks  were  so  well  directed  and  so  pertinent,  that, 
near  the  close  of  his  speech,  Mr.  Burt  called  him  to  order,  for 
discussing  the  subject  of  slavery.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  Mr. 
Dickey's  remarks,  General  Wilson  of  New  Hampshire  obtained 
the  floor,  and  the  House  adjourned. 

The  bill  did  not  come  up  again  for  discussion  until  the  twenty- 
ninth.  Before  going  into  committee  on  that  day,  Mr.  Rockwell,  of 
Connecticut,  Chairman  of  the  committee  on  Claims,  offered  a  reso- 
lution closing  debate  on  this  bill  at  half-past  one  o'clock,  allowing 
but  one  hour  and  a  quarter  for  the  discussion  of  this  important 
question,  which  now  agitates  the  whole  Union ;  but  it  was  regarded 
at  that  time  as  meritorious  in  any  member  to  prevent  agitation  of 
the  subject  of  slavery,  and  the  resolution  passed  with  little  opposi- 
tion. AVhen  the  House  resolved  itself  into  committee  of  the  whole, 
Mr.  Wilson,  of  New  Hampshire,  delivered  his  views,  sustaining  the 
report  of  the  minority  of  the  committee ;  making  the  question  dis- 
tinctly to  depend  upon  the  right  of  men  to  hold  property  in  men, 
under  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Mr.  Brown,  of  Mississippi,  followed  in  a  few  remarks,  taking 
strong  ground  in  favor  of  the  principle,  that  slaves  are  property, 
to  the  same  extent  that  horses  and  cattle  are  property.  Mr.  Cabel, 
of  Florida,  followed  in  a  few  words  to  the  same  point.  Here  the 
time  for  closing  the  debate  arrived ;  but  Mr.  Burt,  having  reported 
the  bill,  held  the  right  to  speak  one  hour,  under  the  rules,  in  reply 
to  those  who  opposed  its  passage.  He  had  evidently  expected  the 
bill  would  pass  without  serious  opposition,  and  had  become  some- 
what excited  by  the  difficulties  with  which  he  had  to  contend  ;  con- 
fident however  of  final  success,  he  at  once  declared  the  only  question 
to  be,  that  of  property  in  human  flesh.  Many  Northern  men  were 
unwilling  to  meet  this  bald  question.  Mr.  Collamer,  of  Vermont, 
interrupted  Mr.  Burt,  inquiring,  if  there  were  not  other  questions 


110  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

of  law  involved?  Burt  replied,  with  some  degree  of  arrogance, 
that  he  would  "  leave  no  other  loop-hole  for  gentlemen  to  escape." 
This  supercilious  bearing  of  Mr.  Burt  greatly  delighted  some  North- 
ern members,  while  it  appeared  greatly  to  embarrass  others ;  but 
his  speech  was  the  last,  and,  there  being  no  opportunity  for  reply, 
every  thing  gave  promise  of  a  triumphant  victory  to  the  slave- 
holders. 

After  the  conclusion  of  this  speech,  the  vote  was  taken  in  com- 
mittee, where  no  record  was  kept,  and  stood  for  the  bill  seventy, 
against  it  forty-four  —  the  majority  being  even  greater  than  the 
slaveholders  expected.  The  bill  was  then  reported  to  the  House, 
and  Mr.  Crowell,  of  Ohio,  moved  to  lay  it  on  the  table,  and  called 
for  the  yeas  and  nays ;  and  the  recorded  vote  stood,  ayes  sixty-six, 
noes  eighty-five  —  being  a  majority  of  nineteen  in  favor  of  the 
claim.  The  bill  was  then  ordered  to  a  third  reading  without 
division. 

Soon  as  this  result  was  announced,  the  Author  moved  a  recon- 
sideration of  this  vote.  The  reconsideration  being  a  privileged 
question,  he  held  the  floor,  and  was  proceeding  to  deliver  his 
views,  but  gave  way  for  an  adjournment. 

On  the  sixth  of  January,  the  bill  again  came  up  in  the 
regular  order  of  business,  and  Mr.  Giddings  concluded 
bis  remarks.  He  endeavored  to  meet  the  arrogance  of  Mr.  Burt, 
clearly  and  as  fully  as  his  abilities  would  permit.  He  accepted 
the  challenge  thrown  out  by  that  member,  that  he  would  leave  no 
other  loop-hole  for  gentlemen  to  escape,  than  by  meeting  the  ques- 
tion of  property  in  human  flesh.  To  this  point  he  directed  his 
remarks,  attempting  to  show  the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Burt  to  be  opposed 
to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  to  civilization,  to  the  dictates  of  our  common  hu- 
manity. ^  When  he  concluded  his  remarks,  he  withdrew  his  motion 
to  reconsider,  in  order  to  test  the  sense  of  the  House  on  the  pass- 
age of  the  bill,  which  would  be  the  next  question  in  order. 

(1)  These  Speeches  may  be  found  in  the  Congressional  Globe,  2d  Sess.  XXXth  Congress. 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  Ill 

As  the  roll  was  called,  and  the  votes  given,  the  result  became 
doubtful,  and  much  interest  was  manifested  in  all  parts  of  the  hall. 
The  bill  and  discussion  had  been  thrust  upon  the  House  by 
slaveholders  :  its  whole  merits  were  based  upon  the  most  vital  prin- 
ciples of  slavery.  The  question  of  property  in  human  flesh,  con- 
stitutes one  of  the  essential  elements  of  the  institution,  without 
which  it  could  not  survive  one  hour.  The  slave  power  had  not  for 
many  years  been  defeated  on  any  proposition  touching  slavery, 
and  it  appeared  painful  for  those  interested  in  that  institution  to 
have  their  influence  doubted. 

The  Clerk  (a  deputy)  was  engaged  a  long  time  in  counting  the 
votes,  and  ascertaining  the  result.  He  was  a  slaveholder,  and  ap- 
peared perplexed ;  some  members,  even  before  he  made  report  of 
the  vote,  expressed  doubts  of  his  accuracy.  At  length  he  passed 
his  report  to  the  Chair.  The  Speaker,  Mr.  Winthrop  of  Massa- 
chusetts, casting  his  eye  upon  the  figures,  rose  from  his  seat,  and 
announced  the  vote  —  '*  ayes  ninety,  noes  eighty-nine,^''  and  then  re- 
marking that  the  rules  of  the  House  made  it  his  duty  to  vote  in  all 
cases  when  such  vote  would  change  the  result,  began  to  give  his 
reasons  for  the  vote  he  was  about  to  record,  and  as  he  proceeded  it 
became  evident  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  bill.  The  Clerk  then 
handed  him  another  paper,  and  the  Speaker,  after  reading  it,  an- 
nounced that  the  Clerk  had  mistaken  the  vote,  and  without  saying 
more,  announced  —  "ayes  ninety-one y  noes  eighty-nine,^^  and  de- 
clared the  bill  ''  passed.  ^^ 

The  interest  had  now  become  intense  in  all  parts  of  the  hall.  It 
was  perfectly  natural  that  men  should  be  suspicious  of  the  Clerk. 
Mr.  Dickey,  in  particular,  had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  question. 
He  was  sitting  near  the  Author,  and  expressed  freely  the  opinion, 
that  the  Clerk  had  reported  the  vote  incorrectly.  So  strong  was 
this  belief,  that  he  went  to  the  Clerk,  and  demanded  a  copy  of  the 
record  giving  the  ayes  and  noes.  The  Clerk  promised  to  give  it 
soon.  Dickey  waited  a  short  time,  and  renewed  his  call  on  the 
Clerk,  who  again  promised.     Dickey,  after  waiting  a  proper  time, 


112 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


went  to  the  Clerk's  table,  and  took  the  record  of  yeas  and  nays, 
and  brought  it  to  the  seat  of  the  Author,  and  requested  his 
assistance  in  counting  the  vote.  They  counted  and  re-counted 
several  times,  but  were  unable  to  make  the  vote  other  than 
''eighty-nine  ayes,  and  eighty-nine  noes" — showing  a  tie  vote  ; 
which,  without  the  Speaker's  vote,  would  have  defeated  the  bill. 
Dickey  returned  the  record  to  the  Clerk,  and  then  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  House  and  the  Speaker  to  the  fact,  that  the  Clerk  had 
inaccurately  reported  the  vote.  The  Speaker  replied,  if  an  error 
had  occurred,  the  proper  time  to  correct  it  would  be  the  next  morn- 
ing, on  reading  the  Journal,  when  a  motion  to  correct  the  entry 
would  be  in  order,  in  preference  to  any  other  business. 

On  looking  over  the  list,  it  was  subsequently  discovered,  that  the 
vote  of  Hon.  John  W.  Farrelly  of  Crawford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
was  not  recorded.  This  added  intensity  to  the  interest  already  felt 
on  the  subject. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  House  was  on  Monday,  when  the 
Speaker  recited  the  facts  as  they  occurred  on  Saturday,  and  de- 
clared that,  on  a  more  careful  examination,  it  was  found  that  the 
vote  stood — "ayes  eighty-nine,  noes  eighty  nine. ^^ 

Mr.  Farelly  inquired,  if  his  vote  was  recorded  ?  The  Speaker 
informed  him  it  was  not,  but  that  it  was  his  right  to  have  it  record- 
ed, if  he  had  actually  voted  on  the  passage  of  the  bill.  That  gen- 
tleman declared  that  he  had  voted  no,  on  the  passage  of  the  bill, 
and  the  vote  being  recorded,  the  Speaker  declared  the  result  to  be 
''ayes  eighty-nine,  noes  ninety,"  and  then  announced  the  bill 
"lostr' 

The  friends  of  freedom  were  greatly  cheered,  from  the  considera- 
tion, that  party  ties  had  not  been  strong  enough  to  control  members 
on  this  important  vote.  Of  the  twenty-one  members  from  Ohio, 
only  Mr.  Ritchey  of  Perry,  Mr.  Cummins  of  Tuscarawas,  and  Mr. 
Taylor  of  Ross,  voted  with  the  slaveholders ;  while  such  Democrats 
as  Messrs.  Faran,  Fries,  Kennon,  Lamb,  Miller,  Morris,  Sawyer 
and  Starkweather  voted  against  the  doctrine  that  men  and  women 


A=!S'=^-hfl-hn-lRr.  flcno'^n  fi<3  O.^oeola,  or  Powell  ) 


TUE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  113 

may  be  held  and  treated  as  property.  Indeed,  there  were  but  few 
Representatives  from  the  free  States  willing  to  recognize  that  doc- 
trine. No  member  from  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  Michigan,  Wisconsin  or  Iowa  voted 
for  it.  From  Maine,  Messrs.  Clapp,  Clarke  and  Williams  ;  from 
New  York,  Messrs.  Birdsal,  McClay,  Murphy,  Necoll  and  Tall- 
niadge ;  from  Pennsylvania,  Messrs.  Brady,  Bridges,  Brodhead, 
Charles  Brown,  C.  J.  Ingersol,  Levin  and  Job  Mann ;  from  Indi- 
ana, Messrs.  Dunn,  R.  W.  Thompson  and  Wick;  and  from  Illi- 
nois, Messrs.  McClernand  and  Richardson  voted  to  pay  Pacheco 
a  thousand  dollars,  because  General  Jessup  sent -a  most  dangerous 
enemy  out  of  Florida. 

Mr  Burt,  and  the  friends  of  slavery  generally,  appeared  irritated 
by  defeat.  They  had  driven  their  Northern  allies  to  revolt.  The 
more  they  reflected  upon  the  subject,  the  more  important  the  issue 
appeared.  They  had  caused  great  agitation,  while  professing  to 
deprecate  all  discussion  in  regard  to  slavery.  If  slaves  were  not 
property  under  the  Federal  Constitution,  they  must  be  regarded  as 
persons.  If  the  civilized  world  looked  upon  them  as  persons,  those 
who  held  them  in  bondage  must  of  course  be  considered  as  oppres- 
sors of  mankind,  and  could  have  no  claim  to  the  title  of  Democrats 
or  of  Christians.  In  every  point  of  view,  the  result  appeared  dis- 
astrous to  the  slave  power. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances,  that  the  Hon.  William  Sawyer 
of  Ohio,  was  induced  to  move  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote  by 
which  the  bill  was  lost.  From  the  fact  that  none  but  those  voting 
in  the  negative  could  by  the  rules  of  the  House  move  a  reconsidera- 
tion, and  that  he  subsequently  voted  against  his  own  motion,  it  is 
probable  he  made  it  from  personal  kindness  to  those  who  supported 
the  bill.  On  this  motion,  a  long  disciission  subsequently  arose, 
which  did  not  terminate  until  the  nineteenth  of  January,  when  the 
motion  to  reconsider  prevailed,  and  on  the  final  passage  of  the  bill 
the  vote  stood — ayes  101,  noes  95.  So  the  bill  was  passed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  the  struggle  in  that  body  terminated. 
8 


114  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

But  the  bill  was  never  brought  up  for  discussion  in  the  Senate, 
and  the  claim  was  never  more  moved  in  either  House  of  Congress. 
The  question  of  property  in  human  flesh,  however,  continued  to  be 
discussed  by  the  people,  and  in  Congress,  until  it  has  become  one 
of  the  great  issues  on  which  political  parties  now  base  their  action. 

Note.— The  life  of  this  Blave  Louis  is  perhaps  the  most  romantic  of  any  man  now  living. 
Born  and  reared  a  slave,  he  found  means  to  cultivate  his  intellect  —  was  fond  of  reading; 
and  while  gentlemen  in  the  House  of  Representatives  were  engaged  in  discussing  the  value 
of  his  bones  and  sinews,  he  could  probably  speak  and  write  more  languages  with  ease  and 
fecility  than  any  m«mbiT  of  that  body.  In  revenge  for  the  oppression  to  which  he  waa 
subjected,  he  conceived  the  purpose  of  sacrificing  a  regiment  of  white  men,  who  were  ea 
gaged  in  the  support  of  slavery.  This  object  effected,  he  asserted  his  own  natural  right  to 
freedom,  joined  his  brethren,  and  made  bloody  war  upon  the  enemies  of  liberty.  For  two 
years,  he  was  the  steady  companion  of  Coacoochee,  or,  as  he  was  afterwads  called,  "  Wild 
Cat,"  who  subsequently  became  the  most  warlike  chief  in  Florida.  They  traversed  the 
forests  of  that  territory  together,  wading  through  swamps  and  everglades,  <?roping  their 
way  through  hommocks,  and  gliding  over  prairies.  They  bivouacked  together ;  suffered 
heat  and  cold,  hunger  and  thirst,  together.  For  two  years,  they  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder 
in  every  battle ;  shared  their  victories  and  defeats  together ;  and  when  General  Jessup  had 
pledged  the  faith  of  the  nation  that  all  Indians  who  would  surrender  should  be  protected 
in  the  enjoyment  of  their  slaves.  Wild  Cat  appeared  at  head  quarters,  followed  by  Louis, 
whom  he  claimed  as  his  property^  under  slaveholding  law,  as  he  said  he  had  captured  him 
at  the  time  of  Dade's  defeat.  The  ru.<!e  took.  General  Jessup,  being  a  slaveholder,  and 
believing  that  slaves,  like  horses  and  cattle,  were  the  subjects  of  capture,  immediately  sent 
Louis  with  other  black  warriors  to  Fort  Pike,  near  New  Orleans,  and  thence  with  the  first 
emigrating  party  of  Seminoles  t-o  the  western  country,  where  he  was  three  years  subse- 
quently joined  by  Coacoochee,  and  these  friends,  again  united,  became  intimate,  sharing 
together  the  fortuuts  which  awaited  them,  of  which  we  shall  speak  in  due  time. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

HOSTILITIES   CONTINUED. 

The  Allies  in  their  Camp  —  News  of  General  Clinch's  advance —'Two  hundred  men  vol- 
unteer to  meet  him  —  His  force  —  The  Allies  await  his  approach  in  ambush  —  He  crosses 
the  river  in  another  place  —  They  attack  him  — The  battle  — His  intrepidity  saves  his 
army  —  The  loss  of  the  Allies  —  The  loss  of  General  Clinch  —  Escape  of  Florida  slaves  — 
Their  blood-thirsty  conduct  —  Families  murdered  —  Dwellings  burned  —  Inhabitants 
flee  to  villages  —  Their  suffering  —  Effects  of  the  War  —  General  Jackson  —  Members  of 
Congress  —  General  Cass  —  Ilis  views  and  policy  —  Orders  General  Scott  to  Florida  — 
General  Gaines  moves  upon  Florida  with  his  Brigade  —  Reaches  the  scene  of  Dade's 
massacre  —  Buries  the  dead  — Visits  Fort  King  — While  returning,  is  attacked  —  Ino, 
the  Exile  Chief — His  character  —  The  Allies  surround  General  Gaines  —  His  position  — 
Is  closely  invested  —  Sends  for  assistance  —  Provisions  fail  —  Unauthorized  interference 
of  Cassar  —  Flag  of  Truce  —  General  Clinch  arrives,  and  fires  upon  the  Allies  —  They  flee 
—  General  Gaines  returns  to  Fort  Brooke  —  General  Clinch  returns  to  Fort  Drane. 

The  night  after  the  massacre  of  Dade  and  his  companions 
was  spent  in  exultation  by  the  allies.  Osceola  and  his  friends 
brought  with  them  from  the  sutler's  store  various  goods,  with 
which  they  decorated  their  persons;  while  the  numerous  scalps 
taken  from  the  heads  of  their  enemies,  were  displayed  as  trophies 
of  victory.  They  had  also  found  among  the  stores  with  which 
Major  Dade's  party  were  provided,  sufficient  rum  and  whisky  to 
intoxicate  most  of  them,  and  their  rejoicings  and  felicitations  con- 
tinued, for  hours,  amid  the  darkness  of  night. 

It  was  a  late  hour  in  the  morning  when  they  awoke  from  the 
stupor  occasioned  by  severe  labors  of  the  previous  day,  and  the 
night's  debauch.  Before  they  had  refreshed  themselves  with  the 
morning's   meal,  their   scouts  arrived,  bringing  intelligence  that 

(US) 


116 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


troops  were  advancing  towards  the  Withlacoocliee,  in  pursuit  of 
Indians  and  Exiles.  General  Clinch  had  been  lying  at  Fort 
Drane.  He  clearly  saw  the  evidence  of  approaching  hostilities ; 
and,  although  wholly  unconscious  of  the  danger  which  had  threat- 
ened Major  Dade,  had  felt  it  his  duty  to  raise  such  forces  as  he 
could  command,  and  advance  into  the  Indian  country  as  far  as  the 
"Withlacoochee.  He  gathered  about  two  hundred  Regulars,  from 
the  1st,  2d  and  3d  Artillery,  and,  with  some  four  hundred  Florida 
volunteers,  under  General  C.  K.  Call,  had  nearly  reached  the 
Withlacoochee  before  the  captors  of  Dade  were  informed  of  his 
approach. 

About  two  hundred  warriors,  fifty  of  whom  were  Exiles,  volun- 
teered to  meet  this  army,  of  three  times  their  own  number,  under 
the  command  of  one  of  the  most  able  and  gallant  officers  at  that 
time  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

Osceola  and  Halpatter  -  Tustenuggee  commanded  the  allies. 
They  hastened  to  the  crossing  of  the  Withlacoochee,  and  there  lay 
awaiting  the  approach  of  General  Clinch.  Here  the  water  was  not 
more  than  two  feet  in  depth,  and  they  entertained  no  doubt  that 
the  advancing  forces  would  seek  this  place  for  the  purpose  of  ford- 
ing the  stream.  Here  they  waited  until  the  morning  of  the  thir- 
tiieth,  when  they  learned  that  General  Clinch,  with  his  two  hundred 
Regulars,  had  already  passed  the  stream  some  two  miles  below. 
He  had  effected  his  passage  by  the  aid  of  a  bark  canoe,  which  car- 
ried only  eight  men  at  a  time. 

Having  attained  a  position  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  with  his 
Regulars,  General  Clinch  was  ready  for  battle ;  although  the  four 
hundred  volunteers  were  yet  on  the  north  side  of  the  stream.  The 
Indians  and  Exiles  immediately  engaged  these  veteran  troops, 
although  sustained  by  a  heavy  force  of  volunteers,  who  were  yet 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  At  twelve  o'clock,  on  the  thir- 
tieth of  December,  the  contending  forces  engaged,  and  a  severe 
and  deadly  conflict  followed. 

As  Osceola  now  for  the  first  time  engaged  in  battle,  he  felt 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  117 

anxious  to  distinguish  himself  by  his  intrepidity.  His  voice  was 
heard  on  every  part  of  the  field,  urging  on  his  troops  to  deeds  of 
daring.  Undaunted  by  the  shrill  war-whoop,  and  the  constant 
report  of  Indian  rifles  and  the  whistling  balls  around  him.  General 
Clinch  charged  his  enemy.  The  allies  fell  back,  and  he  continu- 
ally advanced  until  he  drove  them  from  the  thick  hommock  into  the 
open  forest.  The  gallant  general  coolly  passed  along  the  lines 
during  the  action  encouraging  his  men,  and  stimulating  them  to 
effort  by  his  presence  and  bravery.  A  ball  passed  through  his  cap 
and  another  through  the  sleeve  of  his  coat,  to  which  he  paid  no 
attention,  but  continued  to  encourage  his  men.    . 

The  Exiles  also  displayed  unusual  gallantry.  Feelings  which 
had  descended  from  father  to  son  through  several  generations, 
had  been  recently  inflamed  to  the  highest  degree  of  indignant 
hatred.  Conscious  that  they  were  contending  for  their  homes, 
their  firesides,  their  families,  their  liberties,  they  fought  with 
desperation,  and  their  aim  was  fatal.  Unfortunately,  Osceola  was 
wounded  and  disabled  early  in  the  contest,  and  it  was  said  that 
the  Indians  did  not  exhibit  that  undaunted  firmness  on  the  field 
that  was  manifested  by  their  more  dusky  allies.  They  suflfered 
less  than  our  troops.  Two  negroes  and  one  Indian  were  killed, 
and  three  negroes  and  two  Indians  wounded — the  loss  of  the  Exiles 
being  twice  as  great  as  that  of  the  Indians,  although  they  numbered 
but  one-fourth  of  the  allied  force. 

The  battle  continued  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes.  During  this 
time,  the  regular  troops  under  Colonel  Clinch  were  subjected  to  a 
brisk  fire,  and  their  loss  was  severe.  Eight  men  were  killed  and 
forty  wounded,  of  whom  about  one-third  died  of  their  wounds. 
Several  ofiicgrs  were  also  wounded.  The  militia  consulted  their 
own  safety  by  refusing  to  expose  themselves  to  the  fire  of  the 
enemy ;  while  the  regular  troops  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded, 
nearly  one-fourth  of  their  number.  The  allies  drew  oflf,  leaving 
Colonel  Clinch  in  possession  of  the  field  ;  but  the  victory  had  been 
won  at  great  expense  of  blood ;  and  the  determined  coolness  and 


118  THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

gallantry  of  tlie  veteran  officer  who  commanded  our  forces,  saved 
them  from  a  total  defeat. 

The  blows  thus  far  had  fallen  most  heavily  upon  our  own  troops. 
It  became  evident,  that  the  carrying  out  of  General  Jackson's  pol- 
icy, of  removing  the  Exiles  and  Indians  from  Florida,  in  order  to 
encourage  and  sustain  slavery,  was  to  be  attended  with  great  sacri- 
fice of  blood  and  treasure.  But  while  the  Government  and  people 
were  looking  at  these  unexpected  exhibitions  of  firmness  and  love 
of  liberty,  on  the  part  of  the  allied  forces,  other  scenes  were  pre- 
sented to  their  view.  The  fugitive  slaves  who  had  recently  left 
their  masters  in  Florida  and  joined  the  Exiles,  were  stimulated  with 
that  hatred  which  slavery  alone  can  engender  in  the  human  breast. 
They  thirsted  for  revenge  upon  those  who  had  held  them  in  bond- 
age ;  who  had  scourged  and  tortured  them.  They  were  acquainted 
with  the  location  of  the  small  settlements  throughout  the  Territory. 
Uniting  with  the  more  daring  spirits  among  the  Indians  and  Exiles, 
they  proceeded  rapidly  and  stealthily  from  plantation  to  plantation, 
burning  buildings,  destroying  property,  and  scattering  devastation 
throughout  the  border  settlements ;  at  times  murdering  whole  fami- 
lies, killing  and  scalping  such  individuals  as  fell  in  their  way. 

Men  who  had  urged  on  the  war  with  the  hope  of  seizing  and 
enslaving  the  maroons  of  the  interior,  now  saw  their  own  plantations 
laid  waste,  and  in  frequent  instances  mourned  the  loss  of  wives  and 
children,  instead  of  rejoicing  over  captured  slaves,  whom  they  had 
intended  to  acquire  by  piratical  force.  Farms,  and  the  smaller 
villages  on  the  frontier,  were  abandoned  to  the  enemy ;  and  the 
inhabitants  fled  to  the  larger  villages,  where  they  banded  together 
for  mutual  defense.  The  citizens  of  Florida  who  had  petitioned 
General  Jackson  for  the  forcible  removal  of  the  Indians,  because 
they  fiiiled  to  capture  and  return  slaves,  were  now  compelled  to 
flee,  with  their  families,  before  the  infuriated  servants  who  had  left 
them  subsequently  to  the  signing  of  that  petition.  Driven  from 
their  homes  —  their  property  destroyed,  their  servants  fled  —  many 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  119 

families,  who  but  a  few  months  previously  had  been  regarded  as 
wealthy,  were  now  suffering  from  the  want  of  bread. ^ 

The  whole  scene  was  calculated  to  impress  statesmen  and  people 
with  that  religious  philosophy  which  teaches,  that  every  violation 
(justice  or  of  moral  principle,  is,  b}-  the  immutable  law  of  the 
Creator,  inseparably  connected  with  an  appropriate  penalty.  All 
that  the  Exiles  or  Indians  had  ever  asked  or  desired  of  the  Ameri- 
can Government,  was  to  leave  them  to  themselves ;  to  permit  them 
to  remain  as  they  were,  as  they  had  been  for  many  generations. 

The  war  on  our  part  had  not  been  commenced  for  the  attainment 
of  any  high  or  noble  purpose.  No  desire  to  elevate  mankind,  or 
confer  benefits  upon  our  race,  had  guided  our  national  policy  in 
commencing  the  war.  Our  national  influence  and  military  power 
had  been  put  forth  to  reenslave  our  fellow  men ;  to  transform  im- 
mortal beings  into  chattels,  and  make  them  the  property  of  slave- 
holders;  to  oppose  the  rights  of  human  nature;  and  the  legitimate 
fruits  of  this  policy  were  gathered  in  a  plentiful  harvest  of  crime, 
bloodshed  and  individual  suffering. 

The  great  body  of  the  people  were  ignorant  as  to  the  real  causes 
of  the  war.  General  Jackson  had  been  popular  as  a  military  officer, 
and  was  not  less  so  as  President  of  the  United  States.  With  his 
political  friends  his  will  was  law.  The  opposing  political  party  were 
comparatively  few  in  numbers.  They  feared  his  power ;  and  no 
member  of  either  Senate  or  House  of  Representatives  appeared 
willing  to  expose  the  great  moral  crimes  which  the  Government  was 
committing  against  humanity.  Hence  Congress  granted  whatever 
supplies  were  demanded  for  carrying  on  this  piratical  war,  and  ena- 
bling the  President  to  slay  those  who  refused  to  be  enslaved. 

General  Cass,  a  statesman  with  whose  character  the  present  gene- 
ration is  fiimiliar,  was  Secretary  of  War.  On  him  devolved  the 
duty  of  controlling  the  movements  of  the  army.  Unfortunately  for 
him  and  for  mankind,  he  appears  to  have  regarded  moral  and  politi- 

(1)  Sprague's  History  of  the  War. 


120  THE    EXILES   OP    FLORIDA. 

cal  duties  as  separate  and  distinct  in  their  character.  He  evidently 
believed  that  no  moral  turpitude  was  attached  to  movements  of  the 
army,  and  the  outrages  committed  upon  the  Indians  and  Exiles,  in 
order  to  compel  them  to  emigrate  to  the  western  country.  He  or- 
dered Major  General  Scott  to  the  field,  as  Commanding 
General  of  the  army  in  Florida  (Jan.  20),  with  authority 
to  call  on  the  Governors  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Alabama  for 
such  troops  as  he  should  deem  necessary.  General  Eustis,  com- 
manding at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  was  directed  to  repair  at 
once  to  Florida  with  such  forces  as  were  stationed  in  that  city  and 
Savannah,  and  to  accept  the  services  of  such  number  of  volunteers 
as  he  might  deem  necessary  under  the  circumstances. 

Major  General  Gaines,  commanding  the  western  military  depart- 
ment, holding  his  head  quarters  at  New  Orleans,  hearing  of  the  sad 
fate  of  Major  Dade  and  his  regiment,  embarked  at  once  with  a 
brigade  of  eleven  hundred  men,  and  reached  "  Fort  Brooke  "  on 
the  tenth  of  January.  On  the  thirteenth,  he  took  up  his  line  of 
march  for  "Fort  King,"  and  on  the  nineteenth,  encamped  upon 
the  same  ground  which  Major  Dade  had  occupied  on  the  night  of 
the  twenty-seventh  of  December.  The  next  day  they  took  posses- 
sion of  the  field  of  massacre,  and  buried  the  bodies  of  those  who 
had  fallen  in  that  unfortunate  conflict.  He  then  proceeded  to  Fort 
King,  where  he  arrived  on  the  twenty-second.  Leaving  Fort  King 
on  the  twenty-fifth,  he  took  a  more  westerly  route  back  toward  Fort 
Brooke. 

On  the  twenty-seventh,  as  he  was  seeking  a  place  at  which  to 
cross  the  Withlacoochee,  the  allied  forces  opened  a  fire  upon  his  ad- 
vanced guard  from  the  opposite  bank.  The  firing  increased  as  other 
forces  were  brought  into  action,  and  continued  for  more  than  two 
hours,  ceasing  with  the  nightfall. 

There  were  resident  at  different  points  upon  the  Withlacoochee 
many  families  of  Exiles.  Their  commander  was  named  "  Ino,"  of 
whom  General  Jessup  speaks  in  respectful  terms.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  their  principal  counselor,  and  one  of  the  most  important 


r 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  121 

chiefs  among  the  Exiles.  He,  and  such  of  his  men  as  could  be 
collected,  hastily  joined  the  allied  forces  already  in  the  field,  and 
shared  in  the  dangers  of  that  and  of  several  following  days.  Both 
parties  bivouacked  upon  the  field,  on  the  different  sides  of  the  river, 
and  at  daylight  the  next  morning  every  man  had  his  arms  in  readi- 
ness for  renewing  the  conflict. 

At  sunrise.  General  Graines  moved  down  the  river  three  miles, 
where  he  expected  to  find  a  suitable  ford  ;  but  on  reaching  it,  the 
Indians  and  Exiles  opened  a  brisk  fire  upon  his  men.  Lieutenant 
Izard  of  the  dragoons,  endeavoring  to  rally  his  men  to  ascertain  the 
possibility  of  fording  the  stream,  fell  by  a  shot  from  the  opposite 
bank. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  ford  the  river,  attempts  were  made  to 
construct  rafts ;  but  the  fire  upon  the  men  employed  was  so  galling 
that  they  were  ordered  back  out  of  the  range  of  the  enemies'  shot. 
During:  these  movements,  the  Exiles,  understandinoj  the  En«:lish 
language,  kept  up  a  conversation  with  the  whites  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  and  tauntingly  defied  them.  General  Gaines  was 
too  well  acquainted  with  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare  to  attempt  a 
retreat,  under  the  circumstances  with  which  he  was  surrounded. 
He  at  once  dispatched  an  express  to  General  Clinch,  who  w^as  at 
Fort  Drane,  directing  that  ofiicer  to  repair  as  soon  as  possible  to 
his  relief  with  such  troops  as  he  could  at  the  moment  bring  with 
him.  General  Gaines  soon  after  retired  with  his  forces  into  a  pine 
barren,  half  a  mile  from  the  river,  threw  up  a  breastwork  of  logs 
for  the  protection  of  his  men,  and  awaited  reinforcements. 

The  allied  forces  were  estimated  by  General  Gaines  at  fifteen 
hundred,  though  subsequent  reports  show  they  did  not  exceed  five 
hundred  Indians  and  two  hundred  negroes.  He  was  immediately 
invested  in  his  fortified  camp,  but  he  coolly  awaited  the  arrival  of 
General  Clinch.  As  the  enemy  crossed  the  river  in  large  forces, 
and  became  more  bold  in  their  advances  toward  the  breastwork, 
their  fire  became  more  annoying.     In  a  few  days  his  provisions 


122 


THE   EXILES   OP    FLORIDA. 


were  nearly  exhausted,  and  his  men  appeared  to  feel  unsafe,  and 
expressed  solicitude  for  the  arrival  of  General  Clinch. 

On  the  first  of  February,  the  allied  forces  made  a  vigorous  at- 
tack upon  the  fortified  camp,  but  they  were  repulsed  after  an  hour 
of  steady  firing.  On  this  day,  General  Gaines  directed  all  the  corn 
in  the  camp  to  be  collected  and  dealt  out  to  the  men  in  equal  quan- 
tities. It  gave  to  each  one  pint.  On  the  third,  they  commenced 
killing  horses,  and  appropriating  the  flesh  to  sustain  the  lives  of  the 
men.  The  fire  of  the  allied  forces  was  kept  up  on  the  fourth  and 
fifth,  while  the  troops  had  nothing  but  horse  flesh  for  food,  and  no 
tidings  had  yet  arrived  from  General  Clinch.  At  this  time  great 
enthusiasm  prevailed  among  the  allies.  Their  women  were  at  the 
camp,  a  mile  distant,  casting  balls,  cooking  food  for  the  men,  and 
doing  what  they  could  to  cheer  them  on  to  victory,  which  they  began 
to  regard  as  almost  certain.  In  the  meantime,  the  situation  of 
General  Gaines  and  his  army  -was  constantly  becoming  more  crit- 
ical. His  troops  were  depressed  with  a  sense  of  their  situation ; 
while  the  allies  were  becoming  hourly  more  enthusiastic.  They  had 
destroyed  Dade's  regiment ;  had  maintained  a  severe  battle  with 
General  Clinch  in  the  open  forest.  They  knew  their  power,  and 
that  any  attempt  to  retreat  from  them  would  be  fatal ;  while  it  would 
be  impossible  for  our  troops  to  remain  much  longer  in  camp,  as  their 
stock  of  horses  must  soon  fail. 

Twenty-one  years  had  passed  since  General  Gaines  transmit- 
ted a  letter  to  the  War  Department,  giving  the  first  ofiicial  notice 
that  the  Exiles  were  collecting  at  *'  Blount's  Fort  "  He  then  de- 
spised the  friendless  people  who  were  seeking  liberty.  He  had 
himself  detailed  Colonel  Clinch  and  the  regiment  under  his  com- 
mand, attended  by  Creek  Indians,  with  General  Jackson's  orders 
*•  to  destroy  the  fort,  and  return  the  slaves  to  their  rightful 
owners.''''  He  then  called  the  Exiles  "  outlaws,"  supposed  them 
incapable  of  taking  care  of  themselves,  even  if  in  full  possession  of 
their  liberty.  But  he  and  his  gallant  army  were  now  surrounded 
by  them  and  their  friends,  who  were  killing  his  men  whenever  they 


THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  123 

exposed  themselves  to  view.  On  the  fifth  of  March,  he  had  lost 
four  men  killed  and  thirty  wounded. 

A  circumstance  occurred  on  the  night  of  the  fifth  of  February, 
which  hap  never  been  fully  explained.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  John  Caesar,  one  of  the  Exiles  residing  at  Micanopy,  an 
old  man  and  somewhat  of  a  privileged  character  among  both  Indians 
and  Exiles,  advanced  in  the  darkness  near  the  camp  of  General 
Gaines,  and  hailed  the  nearest  sentinel  on  duty.  Speaking  in  good 
English,  the  sentinel  supposed  him  a  messenger  from  General  Clinch ; 
but,  on  learning  his  true  character,  he  was  inquired  of  as  to  his  ob- 
ject. He  declared  that  the  allies  were  tired  of  fighting,  and  wished 
to  come  in  and  shake  hands  with  General  Gaines  and  his  men.  He 
was  told  to  come  in  the  morning  with  a  white  flag. 

Caesar  returned  to  the  allied  camp  and  reported  his  conversation. 
He  had  spoken  to  our  troops  as  if  authorized,  while  all  the  chiefs 
and  head-men  denied  his  authority,  and  many  were  for  inflicting 
upon  him  the  penalty  of  immediate  death  for  this  unauthorized 
act.  Osceola,  now  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  chief,  interposed  to 
save  him.  He  had  headed  the  party  who  put  to  death  Charley 
E.  Mathler,  a  brother  chief,  for  consenting  to  go  West,  and  with 
his  own  hands  had  scattered  the  gold  found  on  his  person,  declar- 
ing it  to  be  "the  price  of  the  red  man's  blood:"  While  now  a 
black  man,  one  of  their  "allies,"  had  committed  a  far  greater 
impropriety,  he  interposed^ ^^ save  him.  All  agreed  that  their 
honor  had  been  pledged,  although  Caesar  had  no  authority  for  his 
conduct.  1 

The  next  day  some  of  their  warriors  left  in  disgust,  after  it  had 
been  determined  to  send  in  a  flag  of  truce,  according  to  Caesar's 
agreement.  But  those  who  remained  to  carry  out  the  arrangement, 
formed  at  twelve  o'clock  into  line,  some  forty  rods  in  the  rear  of 
General   Gaines's  camp.     Three  of  their  number,  gaily  dressed, 

(1)  Osceola,  though  a  fierce  and  gallant  warrior,  entertained  high  notions  of  honor ;  and, 
although  a  savage,  he  was  punctilious  on  those  point?,  and  finally  fell  a  victim  to  the 
treachery  of  those  calling  themselves  civilized  men. 


124  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

advanced  with  a  white  flag.  Adjutant  Barrow  of  the  Louisiana 
Volunteers,  met  them.  Osceola  told  him  that  he  desired  a  talk 
with  General  Gaines. 

While  these  arrangements  were  going  forward,  General  Clinch 
arrived  in  sight  of  the  Indians,  on  his  way  to  relieve  General 
Gaines.  Seeing  the  enemy  thus  drawn  up,  facing  the  camp,  he  at 
once  deployed  his  column,  and  opened  a  fire  upon  them.  The  allies 
supposing  themselves  to  have  been  betrayed  fled  precipitately,  and 
the  forces  under  General  Clinch  united  with  those  under  General 
Gaines. 

It  is  said  that  up  to  the  time  the  allies  received  the  fire  of  Gen- 
eral Clinch,  they  had  not  lost  a  man.  That  fire  killed  two  Indians 
and  one  negro,  and  wounded  five  others. 

One  of  the  Exiles,  residing  upon  the  Withlacoochee,  who,  after 
the  compact  with  General  Jessup  in  1838,  surrendered,  with  others, 
and  emif^rated  West,  stated  that  he  assisted  Osceola  in  countinix  the 
sticks  handed  in  by  each  warrior  engaged  in  this  affair,  and  there 
were  seven  hundred  present ;  and  another  bunch  of  sticks  number- 
ing one  hundred  had  been  sent  by  a  party  who  expected  to  reach 
the  scene  of  action  the  next  day,  when  a  general  and  determined 
attack  was  to  have  been  made.  But  their  forces  disbanded  upon 
the  arrival  of  General  Clinch,  and  they  separated  to  their  diflferent 
homes. 

The  ofiicers  under  General  Gaines  charged  the  allies  with  bad 
faith,  intending  to  massacre  them  under  pretense  of  treating  with 
them  ;  while  the  allies  charged  our  troops  with  a  treacherous  effort 
to  shoot  them  while  their  flag  of  truce  was  floating  over  them,  and 
they  engaged  in  peaceful  negotiation. 

General  Gaines  proceeded  to  Fort  Brooke,  and  thence  returned 
to  New  Orleans ;  while  General  Clinch  conducted  his  troops  back 
to  Fort  Drane. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

HOSTILITIES  CONTINUED. 

General  disappointment  in  regai»J  to  the  continuance  of  the  War  —  Its  Difficulties  —  Feel- 
ings of  the  People  of  Florida  —  Letter  of  their  Delegate  in  Congress  —  Letter  of  General 
Jessup  to  F.  P.  Blair—  President  Jackson's  order  in  regard  to  it  — Secretary  of  War  or- 
ders General  Scott  to  Washington,  and  General  Jessup  to  take  command  —  General  Call 
in  temporary  command  of  the  Army — Court  of  Inquiry — Osceola  attacks  Micanopy — 
Major  Ileilnian's  gallant  Defense  —  General  Jessup  meets  General  Call  at  Talaha.-!se  —Re- 
fuses to  assume  Command  —  Major  Pearce's  Expedition  to  Fort  Drane  —  MeetB  Osceola 
with  an  equal  force  —  SoTere  Contest  —  Major  Pearce  retires  to  Micanopy —  General  Jes- 
sup's  contract  with  Creeks — Its  Character  —  Resumes  barbarous  practice  of  Enslaving 
Prisoners  —  General  Call's  Expedition  to  Withlacoochee  —  Its  Failure  —  Further  attempts 
to  destroy  Stores  on  that  River — Armstrong's  Battle  —  Another  severe  Battle  —  Another 
Expedition  to  Withlacoochee  —  Its  Failure  —  Skill  and  Valor  of  the  Exiles  and  Indians 
—  Loss  of  Creeks  —  They  become  Disheartened. 

When  General  Scott  took  command  of  the  army  in  Florida,  the 
Administration  and  the  country  confidently  expected  that  he  would 
bring  the  war  to  an  immediate  close.  There  was  but  little  known 
of  the  combined  strength,  or  the  determined  purpose,  of  the  Semi- 
noles  and  Exiles.  They  were  regarded  as  few  in  number,  and  were 
supposed  to  be  fighting  without  any  very  definite  purpose.  The 
difficulties  of  collecting  an  army  in  that  territory,  procuring  supplies 
and  arranging  a  campaign,  were  great ;  and  the  most  effective  mode 
for  penetrating  the  strongholds  of  the  allied  forces  could  only  be 
ascertained  by  experience. 

The  inhabitants  of  Florida  had  urged  on  the  war.     They  held 

(125) 


126  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

their  enemy  in  great  contempt.  They  were  slaveholders,  accus- 
tomed to  look  upon  the  negro  as  an  inferior  being,  possessed  of  very 
limited  reasoning  powers,  and  devoid  of  the  nobler  sentiments  which 
adorn  the  human  character.  They  do  not  appear  to  have  supposed 
the  African  capable  of  noble  aspirations,  or  of  manly  effort.  They 
were  also  accustomed  to  look  upon  the  Indians  with  about  the  same 
degree  of  contempt.  Regarding  the  war  as  commenced  and  prose- 
cuted for  their  own  benefit,  they  felt  authorized  in  some  degree  to 
dictate  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  conducted. 

General  Scott,  bred  to  the  profession  of  arms,  and  conscious  of 
that  self-respect  which  was  due  to  an  officer  of  his  rank,  paid  but 
little  attention  to  their  attempts  at  interference  with  his  ofiEieial  du- 
ties. This  was  regarded  as  offensive,  and  the  delegate  in  Congress 
from  that  Territory  demanded  his  withdrawal  from  the  command. 

General  Jessup,  at  that  time  in  command  of  the  army  in  Georgia, 
operating  against  the  Creek  Indians,  in  order  to  compel  them  to 
emigrate  West,  also  wrote  a  letter  (June  20 J,  addressed  to  a  pri- 
vate citizen  of  Washington  City,^  criticising  General  Scott's  policy. 
This  letter  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  President  Jackson,  who, 
after  reading  it,  indorsed  upon  it  as  follows  : 

'•  Referred  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  that  he  forthwith  order  Gen- 
•'  eral  Scott  to  this  place,  in  order  that  an  inquiry  may  be  had  into 
**  the  unaccountable  delays  in  prosecuting  the  Creek  war,  and  the 
**  failure  of  the  campaign  in  Florida.  Let  General  Jessup  assume 
**  the  command.^  a.  j." 

It  is  very  evident  that  General  Jackson,  when  speaking  of  the 
"  unaccountable  delays  "  of  a  few  months,  had  little  expectation  that 
under  the  direction  of  his  most  favorite  officer  the  war  would  con- 
tinue during  his  life,  and  that  he  would  leave  another  generation 
involved  in  hostilities,  for  the  purpose  of  enslaving  persons  whom 
he  had  ordered  to  be  "  returned  to  their  masters  "  twenty  years  pre- 

(1)  Francis  P.  Blair,  who  is  yet  living,  (1858.) 

(2)  Vide  Ex.  Doc.,  2d  Sess.  XXVth  Congress,  No.  78,  pages  558-9. 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  127 

viously.  But  it  is  also  apparent  that  neither  the  President,  nor 
Congress,  nor  the  officers  of  the  army,  had  any  just  conceptions  of 
that  love  of  liberty  which  nerved  the  Exiles  to  effort,  and  stimu- 
lated them  to  encounter  every  hardship  and  privation,  and  suffering 
and  danger,  rather  than  be  delivered  over  to  degrading  bondage. 

Congress,  participating  in  the  general  astonishment  at  the  failure 
of  our  arms  to  conquer  a  handful  of  Indians  and  negroes,  adopted 
a  resolution,  calling  on  the  President  for  information  touching  that 
subject.  In  answer  to  this  resolution,  General  Cass,  Secretary  of 
War,  transmitted  voluminous  papers  to  Congress,  which  may  be 
found  in  the  Executive  Documents  of  the  second  session,  Twenty- 
fourth  Congress,  from  which  much  of  our  information  is  derived. 

The  Secretary  of  \Yar  issued  the  order  for  General  Scott  to  retire, 
and  another  for  General  Jessup  to  assume  the  command. 

A  court  of  inquiry  was  duly  convened  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining the  cause  of  delay  under  General  Scott.  ^ 

Several  months  now  passed  without  any  important  incident 
to  mark  the  progress  of  hostilities.  As.  the  summer  approached 
and  the  sickly  season  commenced.  General  Scott  left  Florida,  and 
the  command  of  the  army,  for  the  time,  devolved  on  General  C. 
K.  Call.  The  allied  forces  seemed  to  have  retired  to  the  interior, 
and  were  supposed  to  be  engaged  in  raising  corn  and  other  provis- 
ions, for  their  support  during  the  coming  winter,  and  all  appeared 
quiet. 

Osceola,  after  the  death  of  Thompson  at  Fort  King,  had  become 
a  master-spirit  among  the  Seminoles.  He  had  conducted  bravely 
during  the  battle  with  General  Clinch,  and  equally  so  in  the  sev- 
eral conflicts  with  General  Gaines,  and  had  been  raised  to  the 
dignity  of  a  chief.  He  now  conceived,  and  executed,  one  of  the 
boldest  movements  ever  made  by  savages  against  a  fortified  post 
manned  by  regular  troops. 

On  the  ninth  of  June,  with  three  hundred  warriors,  some  sixty 

(1)  His  Tindication  before  the  court  was  triumphant,  and  he  was  honorably  acquitted 
from  all  censure. 


128 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


of  whom  were  negroes,  he  attacked  the  stockade  at  Micanopy,  gar- 
risoned by  an  equal  force  of  disciplined  troops,  under  the  command 
of  Major  Heilman.  The  assault  was  maintained  with  determined 
obstinacy  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  assailants  boldly  facing  the 
artillery,  which  was  brought  to  bear  upon  them ;  and  when  they 
left  the  scene  of  action,  they  carried  away  their  dead  and  wounded. 

Although  this  attack  proved  unsuccessful,  it  gave  the  country  to 
understand,  in  some  degree,  the  character  of  the  enemy  with  whom 
our  Government  was  contending. 

Major  Heilman,  in  his  report,  regrets  the  severe  wound  of  Capt. 
Lee  ;  but  says  nothing  of  his  other  loss,  or  that  of  the  allies,  either 
in  killed  or  wounded  He  himself  died  soon  after,  from  excessive 
fatigue  during  the  action. 

Soon  after  this  attack  the  allies  became  again  active,  making 
their  appearance  at  various  points  on  the  frontier,  again  spreading 
devastation  wherever  they  went. 

Major  General  Jessup  continued  in  Georgia,  engaged  in  constrain 
ing  the  Creeks  to  emigrate.  In  this  he  was  very  successful,  and 
for  that  reason  was  ordered  to  take  command  of  the  army  in  Florida. 
With  this  view  he  repaired  to  Tallahasse,  where  he  met  General 
Call,  who  laid  before  him  a  plan,  which  he  had  conceived,  for  an 
expedition  to  Withlacoochee.  General  Jessup,  not  having  received 
his  instructions  for  prosecuting  the  campaign,  refused  to  assume  the 
command  at  that  time,  leaving  General  Call  to  carry  out  his  con- 
templated movement. 

General  Clinch  owned  a  plantation  some  twenty  miles  north- 
westerly of  Fort  King.  During  the  early  part  of  the  season  he 
had  encamped  there  with  his  troops,  and  planted  sugar-cane,  and 
other  crops;  and,  being  occupied  as  a  military  post,  he  gave  it  the 
name  of  "FortDrane." 

In  consequence  of  the  constant  depredations  committed  by  the 
enemy,  he  was  directed  to  fall  back  to  an  Indian  town  called 
**  Micanopy,"  which  thereby  became  an  outpost.  He  left  Fort 
Drane   in   July,  when  his  crops  were  growing  luxuriantly;  and 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 


12^ 


Osceola,  being  in  the  vicinity  with  about  a  hundred  followers,  con- 
sisting of  Indians  and  Exiles,  took  possession  of  this  plantation, 
and  occupied  it  with  apparent  pride,  at  having  driven  its  veteran 
owner  back  farther  towards  the  settlements. 

On  the  twelfth  of  August,  Major  Pearee,  being  in  command  at 
j\Iicanopy,  left  that  station,  with  one  piece  of  artillery  and  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  regular  troops,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  the  allies 
at  Fort  Drane.  He  reached  the  plantation,  situated  eight  miles 
from  Micanopy,  at  sunrise,  and  commenced  the  attack.  Osceola 
anfl  his  followers  fell  back  to  a  homraock,  where  they  made  a  stand. 
The  number  of  men  engaged  were  about  equal ;  Major  Pearee  and 
Osceola  were  known  as  gallant  warriors ;  of  course,  the  battle  was 
warm  and  well  contested. 

After  an  engagement  of  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  Major  Pearee 
fell  back ;  and  the  allied  forces  showing  no  disposition  to  follow  him 
into  the  open  fields,  he  retreated  to  Micanopy,  leaving  them  in 
possession  of  the  field  of  battle.  Major  Pearee 's  loss  was  reported 
to  be  one  killed  and  sixteen  wounded. 

Before  leaving  Alabama,  John  A.  Campbell,  aid  to  General 
Jessup,  acting  under  direction  of  that  officer,  entered  into  a  written 
contract  with  certain  Creek  chiefs  and  warriors.  Being  somewhat 
extraordinary  in  its  character,  and  rendered  still  more  so  by  the 
construction  given  to  it  by  the  Administration  and  the  Indians,  it 
is  deemed  worthy  of  being  inserted.  The  following  is  the  language 
of  the  instrument: 

"  The  State  of  Alabama.  Tallapoosa  County. 

"  This  contract,  entered  into  between  the  United  States  of 
**  America  on  the  first  part,  and  the  Creek  tribe  of  Indians  on  the 
"other  part,  Witnesseth  :  That  upon  the  consideration  hereafter 
"  mentioned,  the  party  of  the  first  part  agrees  to  advance  to  the 
"  party  of  the  second  part  the  sum  of  thirty-one  thousand  nine  hun- 
"  dred  dollars,  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  debts  due  by 
"  the  Creek  Nation  of  Indians.  And  the  party  of  the  second  part 
9 


130  THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA. 

**  hereby  covenants,  and  agrees  to  furnish  from  their  tribe,  the 
"  number  of  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  men,  for  service 
"  against  the  Seminoles,  to  be  continued  in  service  until  the  same 
*'  shall  bo  conquered ;  they  to  receive  the  pay  and  emoluments, 
*'  and  equipments,  of  soldiers  in  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
*•  and  snob,  plunder  as  they  may  take  from  the  Seminoles  ^ 

"And  the  party  of  the  second  part  releases,  transfers  and 
**  assigns  to  the  party  of  the  first  part,  all  their  right,  title,  claim, 
*'  interest  and  demand  in  and  to  the  annuity  granted  by  the  party 
"  of  the  first  part  to  the  party  of  the  second  part,  for  the  year 
'*  1837.  In  witness  whereof,  I,  John  A.  Campbell,  on  the  part 
"  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  set  my  hand  and  afiix  my  seal, 
-  the  28th  of  August,  1836.  ,,^^^^  ^  campbell,  [l.s.] 

"In  witness  whereof,  we,  the  Chiefs  and  Head-men  of  said 
**  tribe,  on  the  behalf  of  said  Nation,  do  hereby  set  our  hands  and 
*•  affix  our  seals,  the  28th  of  August,  1836. 

"  HYPOTHLE  YOIIOLA,  his  X  mark,       [L.  S-l 
"  LITTLE  DOCTOR,  hia  X  mark,  [l.  s.] 

"  TUCKABATCIIEE  MICO,  his  X  mark,  [l  8.] 
"YELCO  HAYO,  his  X  mark,  [l.s.] 

"Attest:    Edward  Hawick, 
Barent  Dubois." 

The  real  character  of  this  contract  will  at  once  be  seen  when  the 
reader  shall  be  reminded,  that  the  laws  of  the  United  States  had, 
in  the  most  specific  manner,  proscribed  the  amount  to  be  paid  each 
man  who  should  enter  the  military  service  of  the  Government, 
and  the  manner  and  time  of  payment ;  nor  had  there  been  any  act 
passed  enabling  General  Jessup,  or  the  Secretary  of  War,  or  the 
President,  to  employ  any  other  persons  in  the  army  except  those 
enlisted  in  the  ordinary  mode ;  yet  this  contract  was  duly  approved 
by  the  War  Department,  at  that  time  under  the  direction  of  Gen- 
eral Cass.  That  provision  which  gives  to  the  Creek  warriors  such 
plunder  as  they  might  capture,  has  been  denounced  as  ''piratical;^' 
and  we  are  constrained  to  admit  there  is  some  degree  of  propriety 


THE    EXILES   OP   FLORIDA. 


131 


in  this  denunciation,  when  wo  find  that  General  Jessup,  by  whose 
orders  it  was  framed,  and  General  Cass,  Secretary  of  War,  who 
approved  it,  and  the  Greek  Warriors  who  signed  it,  all  understood 
that  the  Creeks  were  to  hold  as  slaves  all  the  negroes  they  might 
capture,  while  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  United  States.  It 
was  this  construction  which  subsequently  involved  the  War  Depart- 
ment in  difl&culties,  from  which  it  has  never  been  able  to  extricate 
itself. 

The  barbarous  practice  of  enslaving  prisoners  captured  in  war, 
had  been  repudiated  by  all  Christian  nations  for  more  than  two 
hundred  years.  The  civilization  of  the  sixteenth  century  had 
brought  that  atrocious  practice  into  disrepute,  which  was  now 
resorted  to  and  renewed  in  the  nineteenth,  by  this  American 
Kepublic,  so  boastful  of  its  refinement  and  Christianity.  While 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  provided  for  an  ignominious  punish- 
ment of  those  who  seize  the  stupid  heathen  of  Africa  and  enslave 
them,  our  nation  was  taxing  its  resources,  employing  our  army  and 
paying  out  its  funds,  to  employ  heathen  allies  to  capture  and  en- 
slave a  people  who  for  generations  had  been  free. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  September,  General  Armstrong,  with  a 
brigade  of  twelve  hundred  Tennessee  militia,  was  ordered  to 
Suwanee  "Old  Town."  Here  he  was  met  by  a  detachment  of 
two  hundred  Creek  warriors,  under  Major  Brown,  and  a  battalion 
of  Florida  militia,  under  Colonel  W^arren  ;  and  with  this  formida- 
ble army,  Governor  Call  moved  upon  W^ithlacoochee.  On  coming 
near  the  stream  he  encamped. 

During  the  darkness  of  night  the  allies  fired  upon  his  troops, 
and  kept  them  in  a  state  of  alarm.  In  the  morning  it  was  found 
that  the  river  had  suddenly  risen,  which  rendered  it  difiicult  for 
the  troops  to  cross ;  and  this  gallant  army  returned  to  Fort  Drane 
for  supplies  without  firing  a  gun  or  seeing  an  enemy,  leaving  the 
allies  in  peaceful  possession  of  the  country. 

But  the  Indians  and  Exiles  now  found  themselves  almost  daily 
threatened  in  their  own  fastnesses.     Along  the  Withlacoochee  were 


1S2  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

many  small  villages  and  plantations  occupied  almost  exclusively  by 
Exiles.  Large  crops  of  corn  and  other  vegetables  had  been  raised 
there  during  the  season,  and  it  was  known  that  stores  of  provisions 
wei'e  located  upon  various  islands  surrounded  by  the  swamps  lying 
along  that  river,  and  in  the  great  morass  called  the  *'  Wahoo 
Swamp ;"  while  it  was  equally  known  that  many  families  of  the 
Exiles  were  residing  in  that  vicinity.  It  was  therefore  deemed  im- 
portant to  destroy  those  villages  and  obtain  the  supplies  which  they 
contained. 

General  Armstrong,  with  five  hundred  mounted  men,  while  march- 
ing toward  these  villages  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  encoun- 
tered a  strong  force  consisting  of  Indians  and  Exiles.  The  conflict 
was  spirited.  In  forty  minutes,  eleven  of  Armstrong's  men  fell 
before  the  deadly  aim  of  the  allies.  He,  however,  drove  them  from 
the  field,  but  they  took  with  them  their  dead  and  wounded.  This 
fact  with  savagerf  is  regarded  the  only  test  of  success  in  battle  :  they 
never  acknowledge  defeat  while  they  hold  possession  of  their  dead 
and  wounded. 

But  the  time  drew  near  when  they  were  constrained  to  acknowl- 
edge a  defeat.  On  the  eighteenth  of  November,  a  regiment  of 
Tennesseeans,  consisting  of  about  five  hundred,  encountered  a  body 
of  the  enemy  whose  numbers  are  not  given  by  any  officer  or  histo- 
rian whom  we  have  consulted.  They  were  posted  in  a  hommock. 
The  Tennesseeans  were  the  assailing  party.  The  battle  continued 
more  than  two  hours,  when  the  allies  fled,  leaving  upon  the  field 
twenty-five  Indians  and  Africans  slain  in  battle ;  while  the  loss  of 
the  assailants  was  still  larger.  This  was  the  best  contested  battle 
which  occurred  during  the  campaign  of  1836,  and  the  first  in  which 
the  allies  left  their  dead  in  possession  of  our  troops. 

This  defeat  appears  to  have  taught  the  allies  to  be  cautious,  and 
stimulated  a  desire  to  wipe  out  the  impression  which  their  defeat 
was  calculated  to  make  upon  the  public  mind. 

General  Call  having  formed  a  junction  with  Major  Pearce  of  the 
regular  service,  with  nearly  three  hundred  regular  troops  under  his^ 


TUB  EXILES  OP  FLORIDA.  13S 

command,  making  in  all  more  than  one  thousand  men,  entered  the 
great  Wahoo  Swamp  on  the  twenty-first  of  November.  Their  in- 
tention was  to  obtain  the  provisions  supposed  to  be  deposited  in  the 
villages  situated  upon  the  islands  in  that  extensive  morass.  But 
they  were  attacked  soon  after  entering  the  swamp.  The  fire  at  first 
was  principally  concentrated  upon  the  Creek  Indians,  the  mercenary 
troops  employed  by  General  Jessup.  Major  Pearce  hastened  to 
their  relief  The  fire  then  became  general.  The  men  were  in  a 
swamp  which  was  nearly  covered  with  water,  and  much  of  it  with 
a  thick  underbrush.  After  maintaining  the  battle  for  a  time,  the 
Indians  fell  back,  crossed  the  river,  and  formed  upon  its  bank,  each 
man  protected  by  a  log  or  tree.  The  river  was  turbid  and  appeared 
difiicult  to  pass.  As  our  troops  approached  it,  the  fire  upon  them 
was  severe.  Captain  Moniac,  of  the  Creek  warriors,  was  killed 
while  examining  the  stream  to  ascertain  if  it  could  be  forded. 
Others  were  wounded.  The  allied  force  appeared  determined  to 
make  their  final  stand  upon  this  stream.  Behind  them  were  their 
wives  and  children,  their  provisions,  their  homes  and  firesides. 

General  Call  and  his  troops  now  obtained  an  opportunity  of 
fighting  the  enemy ;  a  privilege  which  he  had  long  sought,  though 
he  embraced  it  under  disadvantageous  circumstances.  Our  troops 
had  great  inducements  to  advance,  but  the  dangers  corresponded 
with  the  advantages  to  be  gained.^  General  Call,  however,  con- 
cluded to  withdraw ;  and  after  sustaining  a  heavy  loss  he  retreated 
and  left  the  allies  in  possession  of  the  field.  They  very  correctly, 
feeling  that  their  success  depended  greatly  upon  the  position  they 
had  taken,  did  not  pursue  General  Call,  who,  with  his  whole  force, 
retired  to  Volusi  to  recruit.  His  loss  was  fifteen  killed  and  thirty 
wounded. 

It  is  certain  the  allies  manifested  great  skill  in  selecting  their  place 

(1)  Sprague,  in  his  Ilisfory  of  the  Florida  War,  says  there  were  Uco  hundred  negro  war- 
riors in  this  battle ;  that  their  women  and  children  were  a  short  distance  in  their  rear, 
mounted  on  their  ponies,  and  ready  to  flee,  if  their  husbands,  brothers  and  fathers  bad 
been  compelled  to  retreat. 


IM 


THE    EXILES    OP    FLORIDA. 


of  attack,  and  the  position  for  their  final  stand.  Their  success 
greatly  encouraged  them,  and  the  gallantry  disjDlayed  by  the  Exiles 
served  to  increase  their  influence  with  the  Indians. 

The  Creek  warriors  had  shown  themselves  very  efficient  in  this 
expedition,  but  they  suffered  severely;  and  at  no  subsequent  period 
did  they  maintain  their  former  character  as  warriors.  They  had 
been  gi*eatly  stimulated  in  this  conflict  with  the  expectation  of  cap- 
turing women  and  children,  whom  they  expected  to  seize  and  sell  as 
slaves.  But  so  far  as  that  object  was  concerned,  their  warriors  who 
fell  in  this  battle  died  ingloriously,  and  the  result  discouraged  tho 
survivors. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE  WAR  CONTINUED  — PEACE  DECLARED. 

General  Jessup  assumes  command  of  the  Army  —  Number  of  Troops  in  the  Field  —  His 
Advantages  —  His  energetic  Policy  —  Orders  Crawford  to  the  Withlacoochee  —  Capture 
of  fifty  two  ^Vomen  and  Children  —  They  are  held  as  plunder  by  the  Creeks  —  Wild  Cat 
and  Louis  attack  Fort  Mellon  —  Severe  Battle — Allies  retire  with  their  dead  and  wounded 
—  Death  of  Captain  Mellon  —  Our  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  —  Caulfield's  Expedi- 
tion to  A-ha-popka  Lake  —  Capture  of  nine  Women  and  Children  —  Expedition  to  Big 
Cypress  Swamp  —  Capture  of  twenty-five  Women  and  Children  —  General  Jessup  seeks 
Negotiation  —  Abrara  and  Alligator  meet  him  preparatory  to  a  more  general  Council  — 
Several  Chiefs  agree  upon  terms  of  Capitulation  — Difficulty  in  regard  to  Exiles  —  Jessup 
yields  —  Express  Stipulation  for  their  Safety — Indians  and  Exiles  come  into  Tampa 
Bay  —  Are  Registered  for  Emigration  —  General  Jessup  discharges  Militia  and  Volunteers 
— Transports  prepared  —  He  declares  the  War  at  an  end,  and  asks  to  be  relieved  from 
active  duty. 

On  the  eighth  of  December,  1836,  Major  General  Jessup  joined 
General  Call  at  Volusi,  and  relieved  that  officer  from  the  further 
command  of  the  army  in  Florida.  He  had  now  eight  thousand 
troops  in  the  field  well  provided  in  all  the  material  of  war.  They 
were  in  fine  spirits,  and  he  was  in  all  respects  prepared  to  push  the 
campaign  with  energy.  He  had  all  the  advantages  which  experi- 
ence of  the  previous  campaign  had  furnished,  and  endeavored  to 
profit  by  it.  He  was  careful  to  order  no  large  body  of  troops,  nor 
any  artillery,  into  the  uninhabited  portions  of  the  country.  He 
employed  only  light  troops  for  such  purposes.  His  first  attention 
was  directed  to  the  settlements  of  Exiles  on  the  Withlacoochee 
who  had  up  to  that  time  defied  our  array.     They  had  been  the 

(135) 


136  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

object  of  frequent  attacks,  and  the  scene  of  as  frequent  defeats. 
He  directed  a  battalion  of  mounted  men  under  Major  Craw- 
ford, accompanied  by  two  battalions  of  Creek  Indians,  to  make  a 
sudden  descent  upon  those  villages.  But  the  allies  had  removed 
their  provisions,  and  most  of  the  people  had  abandoned  the  settle- 
ments. A  few  only  were  left.  The  warriors  fled  to  the  swamps; 
and  the  troops  seized  and  secured  fifty-two  women  and  children. 
These  were  the  first  prisoners  captured  during  the  war ;  and  Gene- 
ral Jessup  made  a  formal  report  of  this  important  victory.  It  was 
a  victory  over  defenseless  women  and  helpless  children,  obtained  by 
the  aid  of  Creek  Indians,  who  claimed  both  women  and  children  as 
plunder  under  their  contract.  But  this  victory  stimulated  the  allies 
to  strike  in  retaliation  for  the  injury  thus  inflicted  upon  non-com- 
batants. 

1 QQ7  1  ^^^  Mellon,  on  the  south  side  of  a  small  body  of  water 
called  Lake  Monroe,  some  thirty  miles  west  of  the  Atlantic, 
was  supposed  by  the  allies  to  be  in  a  weak  condition,  and  they  deter- 
mined to  surprise  it.  Preparatory  to  this,  however,  they  sent  spies 
to  examine  and  report  the  condition  of  the  troops  at  that  station. 
Their  report  being  favorable,  "  Wild  Cat,"  acting  in  conjunction 
with  Louis,  the  slave  of  Pacheco,  who,  it  will  be  recollected,  con- 
certed the  massacre  of  Major  Dade,  made  their  arrangements  for  an 
assault.  With  a  force  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  warriors  the  allies 
invested  this  fort,  which  they  supposed  to  be  garrisoned  by  not  more 
than  one  hundred  men.  Unfortunately  for  the  assailants,  however, 
other  troops  arrived  after  the  Indian  spies  had  left  the  vicinity  of  the 
fort,  and  the  allied  forces  unexpectedly  met  superior  numbers  pro- 
tected by  defenses  which  are  always  regarded  as  safe  against  savage 
foes.  The  attack  was  made  with  great  determination,  and  continued 
for  three  hours,  when  the  assailants  retired  without  leaving  either 
dead  or  wounded  upon  the  field. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Faning  commanded  our  troops,  numbering 
some  three  hundred  men.  A  steamboat  was  lying  in  the  lake,  near 
the  fort,  having  a  field-piece  on  board.     This  was  also  brought  to 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  137 

bear  upon  the  left  wing  of  the  allied  forces,  so  as  to  completely 
drive  them  from  that  part  of  the  field. 

Captain  INIellon,  who  had  entered  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States  in  1812,  fell  early  in  the  action.  Midshipman  McLaughlin 
and  seventeen  others  were  wounded ;  some  of  them  mortally. 

It  may  well  be  doubted,  whether  history  furnishes  an  instance  in 
which  savage  troops  have  beset  a  superior  number  of  disciplined 
forces  in  a  fortified  position  with  such  daring  and  obstinacy  as  that 
which  was  manifested  at  Fort  Mellon. 

There  was  a  small  settlement  of  Exiles  and  Indians  upon  the 
south  side  of  A-ha-popka  Lake,  situated  about. the  twenty-eighth 
degree  of  north  latitude,  and  nearly  equi-distant  between  the  At- 
lantic and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  On  the  twenty-second  of  January, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Caulfield  with  his  regiment  was  ordered  to  visit 
that  settlement,  attended  by  the  Creek  Indians.  A  sub-chief  of 
the  Seminoles,  named  Osuchee,  with  his  band  of  warriors,  hastened 
to  the  defense  of  their  friends,  as  soon  as  they  ascertained  the  ob- 
ject of  our  troops ;  but  thoy  were  unable  to  resist  the  large  force 
under  Caulfield.  Osuchee  and  three  warriors  were  killed ;  and  nine 
Exiles,  all  of  them  women  and  children,  were  taken  prisoners. 

All  the  disposable  forces  under  General  Jessup  were  now  put 
into  active  employ.  With  the  main  body  of  the  army  he  penetra- 
ted far  into  the  Indian  territory.  His  report,  dated  at  Fort  Arm- 
strong, February  seventh,  after  stating  the  commencem.ent  of  his 
march,  says,  "  On  approaching  the  Thla-pac-hatchee,  on  the  morn- 
*•  ing  of  the  twenty-seventh  ultimo,  the  numerous  herds  of  cattle 
**  feeding  on  the  prairies,  and  the  numerous  recent  trails  in  various 
"  directions,  indicated  the  presence  of  the  enemy."  He  goes  on  to 
say:  "  On  the  twenty-eighth,  the  army  moved  forward,  and  occu- 
*' pied  a  strong  position  on  '  Ta-hop-ka-liga '  Lake,  where  several 
*' hundred  head  of  cattle  were  obtained.^ ^  These  immense  herds 
of  cattle  show  to  some  extent  the  means  of  subsistence  which  the 
allies  possessed.  The  commander  of  our  army,  however,  proceeds 
to  state  that  "  the  enemy  was  found  on  the  Hatchee-lustee,  in  and 


138  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

"  near  the  great  Cypress  Swamp,  and  gallantly  attacked.  Lieutenant 
**  Chambers  of  the  Alabama  Yolunteers,  by  a  rapid  charge,  suc- 
'*  ceeded  in  capturing  the  horses  and  baggage  of  the  enemy,  with 
"  twenty-five  Indians  and  negroes,  principally  women  and  children." 
This  language  was  novel  in  the  military  reports  of  our  officers.  A 
charge  made  by  a  body  of  armed  troops  upon  horses,  women  and 
children,  is  termed  by  the  commanding  General  "■  gallant. ^^ 

The  next  day  one  of  the  prisoners  was  directed  to  return  to  the 
two  principal  chiefs,  Abraham,  with  whom  the  reader  is  already  ac- 
quainted, and  Alligator,  who  commanded  the  Indians,  with  a  mes- 
sage of  peace,  desiring  them  to  meet  the  commanding  General  in 
council. 

Abraham  was,  perhaps,  the  most  experienced  and  best  informed 
chief  in  the  allied  forces.  He  had  lived  at  Micanopy ;  and  his 
familiar  acquaintance  with  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing,  and  the 
supplemental  treaty  entered  into  at  the  West,  qualified  him  to  exert 
a  powerful  influence  with  the  Exiles.^  The  Indians,  also,  appear 
to  have  held  him  in  the  highest  respect. 

Alligator  was  an  active  warrior  and  chief.  He  was  a  bold  leader; 
but  was  supposed  to  be  much  under  the  influence  of  Micanopy,  a 
chief  somewhat  advanced  in  years,  said  to  be  very  corpulent,  and 
too  indolent  to  be  otherwise  than  pacific  in  his  desires.  It  is  rela- 
ted of  him,  that  he  was  actually  carried,  by  the  younger  and  more 
enthusiastic  warriors,  into  battle  on  one  occasion,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  war.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  both  Abraham  and  Alligator 
were  influenced  in  some  degree  by  Micanopy  to  visit  General  Jes- 
sup,  and  make  arrangements  to  hold  a  conference  with  him,  at  Fort 
Bade,  on  the  eighteenth  of  February. 

Lieut.  Colonel  Henderson,  of  the  United  States  Marines,  serving 
on  land,   also  made  a  very  successful  excursion  into  the  Indian 

(1)  General  Jessup  was  undoubtedly  somewhat  ignorant  as  to  the  history  of  the  Exiles. 
Speaking  of  Abraham,  that  officer  says  :  '•  He  is  married  to  the  wife  of  the  former  chief  of 
the  Nation  ;  is  a  good  soldier,  and  an  intrepid  leader.  He  it  the  n^gro  chvf,  and  the  mosb 
cuiming  and  intelligent  negro  we  have  here  ;  he  claims  to  be  free." 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  139 

Country,  with  a  pretty  large  force  of  mounted  men  and  friendly 
Indians.  In  his  report,  he  states  the  capture  "of  twenty-three 
*'  negroes,  young  and  old;  over  a  hundred  ponies,  with  packs  on 
*'  about  fifty  of  them  ;  together  with  all  their  clothes,  blankets,  and 
"  other  baggage."  In  this  expedition,  his  loss  was  two  men  killed 
and  five  wounded. 

On  tlie  first  of  March,  the  troops  under  the  command  of  Major 
General  Jessup  had  captured  one  hundred  and  nine  women  and 
children  of  the  Exiles,  and  some  fifteen  belonging  to  the  Indians. 
The  fortunes  of  war  now  bore  hard  upon  those  friendless  and  per- 
secuted people  ;  but  not  a  warrior  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  our 
troops.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  in  all  the  conflicts  which  had 
occurred,  no  Seminole  Indian  nor  negro  warrior  had  surrendered, 
even  to  superior  numbers.  They  had  fought  gallantly,  they  had 
died  freely ;  but  they  preferred  death  to  that  slavery  which  they 
knew  would  follow  a  surrender. 

General  Jessup  now  ordered  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  in  the 
hope  of  getting  the  Indian  and  negro  chiefs  to  assemble  in  council, 
in  order  to  negotiate  for  their  emigration  West.  After  his  inter- 
view with  Abraham  and  Alligator,  he  appears  to  have  felt  confident 
of  success.  The  Exiles  and  Indians  also  began  to  feel  that  it 
would  soon  be  necessary  for  them  to  plant,  corn,  potatoes  and  pump- 
kins, for  their  support  during  the  coming  season.  Every  eflfort  was 
made  by  General  Jessup  to  acquaint  the  different  chiefs  with  this 
arrangement,  and  to  induce  them  to  come  in,  or  send  by  some  sub- 
chief  or  warrior  an  expression  of  their  willingness  to  emigrate  to 
the  western  country. 

Agreeably  to  these  arrangements,  a  few  of  their  principal  men 
met  General  Jessup  at  Fort  Dade,  near  the  Withlacoochee,  on  the 
sixth  of  March.  Only  five  chiefs  were  present,  either  in  person  or 
by  proxy.  Tlie  principal  chiefs  in  attendance  were  Halatoochie 
and  Jumper. 

But  the  former  difficulty  was  again  encountered,  at  the  very 
commencement  of  the  negotiation.     The  Indians  would  enter  upon 


140 


THE   EXILES   OP   FLORIDA. 


no  arrangement  that  did  not  guarantee  to  the  Exiles  equal  protec- 
tion and  safety  as  it  did  to  the  Indians.  Such  stipulation  would 
constitute  an  abandonment  of  the  objects  for  which  the  war  had 
been  commenced  and  prosecuted ;  but,  after  sixteen  months  occu- 
pied in  hostilities,  and  the  expenditure  of  much  blood  and  treasure, 
this  question  lay  directly  across  the  path  of  peace.  But  the  Indians 
were  firm.  Not  one  of  the  Exiles,  except  Abraham,  now  dared 
trust  himself  within  the  power  of  our  troops ;  yet  Abraham's  influ- 
ence was  powerful  with  the  Indians. 

General  Jessup  yielded.  The  articles  of  capitulation  were  drawn 
np  and  considered.  The  fifth  reads  as  follows  :  —  '*  Major  General 
"  Jessup,  in  behalf  of  the  United  States,  agrees  that  the  Seminoles 
**  and  their  allies,  who  come  in  and  emigrate  West,  shall  he  secure 
"  in  their  lives  and  property  ;  that  their  negroes,  their  bona  fide 
"  property,  shall  also  accompany  them  West;i  and  that  their  cattle 
'*  and  ponies  shall  be  paid  for  by  the  United  States." 

The  language  of  this  article  could  not  be  misunderstood.  The 
black  men  then  residing  with  the  Indians,  in  the  Indian  Country, 
who  were  acting  with  them,  and  fighting  our  troops  by  the  side  of 
the  Seminoles,  were  their  "  allies  ;^^  and  to  show  that  the  capitu- 
lation was  not  a  surrender  of  property,  they  were  careful  to  have 
the  compact  expressly  state,  that  their  own  ''negroes,  their  bona 
&de  property ^^  (for  many  Seminoles  owned  slaves),  should  accom- 
pany them  ;  and  that  their  cattle  and  ponies,  which  would  become 
the  property  of  the  captors  by  virtue  of  an  ordinary  surrender, 
under  their  ideas  of  warfare,  were  to  be  paid  for  by  the  United 
States.  There  was  no  room  left  for  cavil  or  dispute  on  these 
points ;  2  nor  could  it  be  supposed  that  Abraham,  with  his  experience 
and  shrewdness,  would  leave  such  an  important  point  doubtful. 

Under  these  articles,  the  Exiles  were  to  enjoy  that  security  for 

(1)  General  Jessup  subsequently  reported  his  determination  to  separate  the  negroes,  or 
Exiles,  from  the  Indians  lie  therefore  stipulated  for  their  safety,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
agreed  that  the  staves  of  the  Indians  should  accompany  their  owners,  and  not  be  separa- 
ted from  them.    These  facts  will  appear  as  we  proceed  in  our  history. 

(2)  Vide  these  articles  at  length,  Ex.  Doc.  225,  3d  Sess.  XXVth  Congress. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  141 

which  they  had  contended  during  a  century  and  a  half.  It  was  for 
this  that  their  ancestors  left  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama  and 
Florida;  to  attain  it,  they  were  willing  to  leave  the  graves  of 
their  fathers  —  the  country  in  which  they  had  lived  during  many 
generations.  Abraham  now  entered  upon  the  work  of  inducing 
all  his  brethren,  both  Indians  and  negroes,  to  go  to  the  Western 
Country,  where  they  could  be  free  from  persecutions. 

Those  willinor  to  emigrate,  were  to  assemble  within  a  district  of 
ten  miles  square,  marked  out  for  that  purpose,  near  Tampa  Bay. 
Many  of  the  Indian  chiefs  visited  that  station  ;  spoke  encouragingly 
of  the  prospect;  that  the  whole  Nation  would  emigrate  at  no  dis- 
tant day.  Even  Osceola,  the  most  inveterate  of  all  the  Seminole 
chiefs,  visited  Fort  Mellen,  avowing  his  intention  to  emigrate; 
while  Abraham  made  report  of  a  like  feeling  among  the  Exiles. 
Twenty-six  vessels,  employed  to  transport  the  emigrants  to  New 
Orleans,  were  anchored  in  Tampa  Bay.  Hundreds  of  Indians 
and  negroes  had  reached  the  camp  assigned  to  the  emigrants,  near 
"Fort  Brooke."  Their  names  were  duly  registered ;  they  drew 
their  rations,  and  made  every  preparation  to  go  West. 

General  Jessup  announced  the  war  at  an  end,  dismissed  the 
militia  and  volunteers,  and  asked  of  the  Department  leave  to  retire 
from  active  duty. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

GENERAL  JESSUP  OVERTHROWS  HIS  OWN  EFFORTS  IN  FAVOR  OF  PEACE. 

Mr.  Van  Buren's  advent  to  the  office  of  President  —  Follows  the  polic}-  of  his  predecessor 

—  General  Jessup's  stipulation  in  favor  of  the  Exiles  -h  Sustained  by  precedent,  and  by 
National  Law  —  Not  contrary  to  General  Jackson's  object  in  commencing  the  War  — 
Citizens  of  Florida  protest  —  Compact  ratified  by  War  Department  —  General  Jessup  for 
a  time  endeavors  to  carry  out  Articles  of  Capitulation  —  Bej^ins  to  yield  — Promises  to 
make  arrangements  with  Chiefs  to  deliver  up  Slaves  who  had  left  their  Masters  during 
the  War  —  Then  declared  he  had  done  so  —  No  such  Compact  found  by  the  Author  — 
Subsequent  history  shows  that  he  had  made  such  arrangement,  by  parol,  with  Co- 
Hadjo  only  —  He  also  uses  army  to  seize  and  return  Exiles  claimed  by  citizens  of  Florida 

—  Revokes  Order  No.  79  —  Indians  and  Exiles  take  alarm  —  Flee  to  their  fastnesses  — 
(Jeneral  Jessup  acknowledges  all  is  lost  —  The  War  renewed. 

On  the  fourtb  of  March,  Mr.  Van  Buren  assumed  the  duties  of 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  General  Jackson  retired  to 
private  life.  Belonging  to  the  same  political  party  to  which  Gen- 
eral Jackson  had  attached  himself,  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  not  expect- 
ed to  make  any  particular  change  in  the  administration  of  the 
Government.  Indeed  so  popular  had  General  Jackson  been,  that 
it  would  have  required  great  boldness  in  his  successor  to  attempt 
any  very  obvious  change  in  our  national  policy ;  and  so  far  as  the 
Florida  war  was  concerned,  there  was  none  whatever. 

It  was  therefore  fortunate  that,  under  the  administration  of  Gen- 
eral Jackson,  the  existence  of  the  Exiles,  as  a  distinct  people,  had 
been  acknowledged.  In  the  articles  of  capitulation,  they  were 
again  recognized  as  the  "  allies"  of  the  Indians.  In  entering  into 
this  stipulation,  General  Jessup  went  no  farther  than  his  legitimate 

(142) 


TEUS   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  143 

powers  extended.  The  peace  of  the  country  in  that  region  was 
entrusted  to  his  judgment,  under  the  direction  of  the  President. 
If  necessary  to  secure  peace,  he  had  the  undoubted  right  to  send 
every  shive,  of  whatever  description,  from  the  Territory  of  Florida ; 
and  it  would  appear,  that  no  doubt  whatever  could  arise  as  to  his 
authority  to  transport  to  the  Western  Country,  all  who  were  en- 
gaged in  actual  hostilities  against  our  nation,  and  that  too  without 
stopping  to  inquire  whether  one  portion  of  the  people  were,  or  were 
not,  claimed  as  property  by  the  people  of  Florida.  General  Jack- 
son had  set  a  noble  example  on  this  subject  which  was  well  worthy 
of  imitation.  When  New  Orleans  was  threatened  by  the  British, 
in  1814,  he  proclaimed  marshal  law  —  ordered  men  into  service 
without  inquiring  whether  they  were  slaves  or  freemen.  Many  of 
them  were  slaves,  and  on  the  day  of  battle  were  emancipated  by 
being  captured  or  killed  by  the  enemy.  The  same  powers  had 
been  exercised  by  our  officers  almost  constantly  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. It  is  a  prniciple  understood  by  all  intelligent  men,  that 
when  war  exists,  peace  may  be  obtained  by  the  emtuicipation  of  all 
the  slaves  held  by  individuals,  if  necessary.^ 

These  articles  of  capitulation  were  duly  transmitted  to  the  W^ar 
Department,  and  were  regularly  approved  by  the  Executive.  It 
would  appear  impossible  that  General  Jessup,  or  any  other  person, 
could  either  misapprehend  or  fail  to  understand  this  stipulation, 
which  was  in  no  respect  modified  by  other  covenants. 

But  this  solemn  covenant  was  in  direct  conflict  with  the  views 
and  feelings  of  the  slaveholders  in  Florida  and  the  adjoining  States. 
They  understood  the  war  to  have  been  commenced  for  the  purpose 
of  reenslaving  the  Exiles.    These  articles  of  capitulation  constituted 

(1)  General  .Tc^sup  at  all  times  practiced  upon  this  principle.  When  "  Louis,"  the  guide 
who  planned  the  defeat  and  massacre  of  Major  Dade,  became  a  prisoner  and  Wild  Cat 
claimed  to  have  captured  him,  General  .lessup  disregarded  the  claim  of  Pacheco,  the 
o\viier,  and  sent  the  negro  West ;  and,  in  other  instances,  he  kept  those  known  to  have 
bwn  slaves  a"  guides,  and,  at  a  proper  time,  sent  them  to  the  Western  Country,  as  freemen. 
He  even  brilxMl  negroes  to  act  as  guides  to  his  army  by  promising  them  liberty,  and  car- 
ried out  such  arrangement. 


144  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

not  only  an  abandonment  of  that  policy,  but  actually  operated  as 
an  emancipation  of  all  the  slaves  who,  having  fled  from  semce  in 
Florida,  Georgia  and  Alabama,  had  joined  the  Seminoles  and  taken 
up  arms  against  their  oppressors.  The  slaveholders  were  indignant 
at  this  stipulation,  nor  did  they  fail  to  express  their  indignation. 

A  few  gentlemen  of  distinction,  who,  with  their  families,  had 
been  driven  from  the  Territory,  were  residing  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  Having  learned  the  character  of  the  capitulation  from 
private  sources,  without  waiting  for  its  publication,  they  at  once 
addressed  the  Secretary  of  War,  stating  they  had  casually  learned 
from  a  gentleman  who  was  present,  that  a  treaty  of  peace  had 
been  concluded  with  the  Seminole  Indians  which  contained  "  no 
•'  stipulation  for  indemnity,  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  for 
"  such  property  of  the  inhabitants  as  had  been  captured  by  said 
*'  Indians,  and  destroyed.  Nor  (say  they)  is  it,  we  are  told, 
"exacted  from  them  that  they  should  even  make  restitution  of 
*' such  stolen  arid  other  property,  to  wit,  negroes,  etc.,  as  they 
*•  now  have  in  possession,  or  as  has  been  invited  into  their  country 
**  and  allowed  refuge  from  its  owners.  VV^e  respectfully  conceive, 
*'  that  the  termination  of  the  war  on  such  terms,  anxiously  as  we 
*'  desire  peace,  would  be  a  sacrifice  of  the  national  dignity,  and  an 
"  absolute  and  clear  triumph  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  who  cannot 
•'  fail  to  view  the  proposition  made  to  them,  to  close  hostilities,  fol- 
*'  lowed  up  by  a  treaty  permitting  to  them  such  extraordinary  terms, 
"  as  a  virtual  suing  for  peace  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and 
*'  evidencing  a  want  of  confidence  in  their  ability  to  conclude  the 
*'  war  through  the  means  of  their  belligerent  and  physical  strength."  ^ 

But  the  most  singular  portion  of  this  memorial  is  the  reference 
to  the  treaty  of  Camp  Moultrie,  by  which  the  Indians  agreed  to 
arrest  and  return  fugitives ;  and  the  memorialists  insisted  that 
unless  the  Indians  be  compelled  to  perform  this  stipulation  the 
owners  "  may  never  regain  their  slaves." 

(1)  Vide  thia  Memorial  at  length.  Ex.  Doc.  225,  Sd  Sess.  XXVth  Congress. 


THE    EXILES  OP   FLORIDA.  145 

The  gentlemen  who  thus  attempted  to  control  the  action  of  our 
National  Government  appear  to  have  forgotten  that  the  treaty  of 
Camp  Moultrie  had  been  abrogated  by  that  of  Payne's  Land- 
ing, which  our  Government  was  now  professing  to  enforce.  By 
this  latter  treaty,  the  Indians  agreed  to  pay  seven  thousand  dollars 
as  an  indemnity  for  all  slaves  then  in  their  territory.  This  was  ac- 
cepted as  a  full  indemnity,  and  the  slaves  then  resident  with  the  In- 
dians became  free  in  law. 

This  memorial,  though  written  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
bears  date  only  twelve  days  later  than  the  articles  of  capitulation, 
entered  into  at  "  Fort  Dade  in  Florida."  Of  this- movement  of  the 
slaveholders,  General  Jessup  appears  not  to  have  been  informed  at 
the  time ;  nor  is  there  any  doubt  that  he  then  intended  to 
carry  out  this  solemn  compact  in  good  faith.  On  the  nineteenth  of 
March,  we  find  his  aid-de-camp  Colonel  Chambers,  by  order  of  Gen- 
eral Jessup,  writing  Lieutenant  Colonel  Harney,  stationed  at  Fort 
Mellon,  directing  him  not  to  permit  the  friendly  Indians  (.the 
Creeks)  to  pass  into  the  country  occupied  by  the  Seminoles,  and 
to  distinctly  inform  the  Creeks  they  '*  must  make  no  more  captures 
of  property  ;^^  and  if  they  had  made  any  since  the  signing  of  the 
treaty,  (meaning  the  capitulation,)  Harney  was  directed  to  take  a 
list  of  such  captures. 

But  the  first  serious  difficulty  suggested  to  General  Jessup,  in 
carrying  out  his  stipulations  with  the  "  allies,^'  appears  to  have  been 
a  letter  from  Major  Thomas  Child,  commanding  at  Fort  Armstrong, 
informing  him  that  a  "  Colonel  Dill,"  a  citizen  of  Florida,  was  at 
that  post,  wishing  to  pass  into  the  Indian  country  for  the  purpose 
of  reclaiming  certain  negroes  which  he  professed  to  have  owned,  but 
who  were  then  supposed  to  have  fled  to  the  Seminoles. 

In  reply  to  this  note  Colonel  Chambers  said  :  "  I  am  instructed 
*'  hythe  commanding  General  to  say,  that  '  Colonel  Dill,'  the  person 
"  whom  you  report  having  detained  at  Fort  Armstrong,  must  not 
**  be  permitted  to  pass,  hut  he  required  to  return  from  whence  he 
**  came  with  all  convetiient  dispatch.  Hereafter,  no  person,  not  in 
10 


146  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

*'  the  employment  of  the  Government,  or  express  rider,  must  be 
*'  allowed  to  pass  your  post.  The  necessity  of  this  order,  and  the 
"  strict  enforcement  of  it,  arise  from  the  necessity,  that,  if  persons 
"  come  forward  to  urge  their  claims  to  negroes,  it  will  evidently 
"  prevent  the  negroes  from  coming  in  ;  and  if  they  do  not  come  in, 
*'  the  commanding  General  is  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  Indians 
**  themselves  will  be  greatly  delayed,  if  not  entirely  prevented,  from 
**  compliance  with  the  terms  of  capitulation." 

The  termination  of  the  war  had  been  regarded  as  certain  by  the 
commanding  ofl&cer,  and  by  him  so  reported.  The  first  article  in 
the  capitulation,  provided  for  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  But  they 
were  renewed  soon  after,  and  the  Indians  and  Exiles  charged  with 
a  breach  of  faith,  both  by  General  Jessup  and  by  the  Executive. 
And  it  becomes  important  to  the  truth  of  history,  that  facts  should 
be  stated.  The  articles  of  capitulation  pledged  the  faith  of  the 
nation  for  the  safety  of  both  persons  and  property  of  the  "  Semi- 
noles  cmd  their  allies. ^^  Those  "  allies  "  could  have  been  no  other 
people  than  the  black  men  who  were  with  them  contending  against 
a  common  foe.  It  is  also  evident  that  Abraham  and  the  Exiles  who 
came  in  for  the  purpose  of  emigrating  so  understood  it.  It  is 
equally  certain  that  the  people  of  Florida  who  memorialized  the 
Secretary  of  War  so  understood  it ;  and  we  need  only  read  the  let- 
ters and  orders  of  General  Jessup  to  learn  that  he  surely  so  under- 
stood it ;  and  the  whole  conduct  of  the  Indians  shows  that  they  put 
the  same  construction  upon  it.  While,  therefore,  justice  should  be 
done  to  General  Jessup,  we  should  be  careful  to  do  no  injustice  to 
either  the  Seminoles  or  the  Exiles.  As  further  evidence  of  Gene- 
ral Jessup's  good  faith  at  the  time,  we  quote  an  extract  from  a  let- 
ter, bearing  date  six  days  later  than  the  one  last  referred  to.  It 
was  addressed  to  Lieutenant  Colonel  Miller,  commanding  at  Tampa 
Bay,  and  is  dated  March  twenty-seventh,  1837.  It  is  signed  by 
General  Jessup  himself,  who  says:  "I  have  also  been  informed 
'*  that  Mr.  Cooley's  business  at  Tampa  Bay  is  to  look  after  negroes, 
*'  K  that  be  so,  he  must  be  sent  away ;  a  trifling  circumstance 


¥ 


THE    EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  147 

"  would  light  up  the  war  again.  Any  inteference  with  the  ne- 
'■^  groes  which  would  'produce  alarm  on  their  part  would  inevita- 
"  big  deprive  us  of  all  the  advantages  we  have  gained.  I  sympa- 
•*  thize  with  Mr.  Cooley  in  his  afflictions  and  losses ;  but  responsible 
"  as  I  am  for  the  peace  of  the  country,  I  cannot  and  will  not  per- 
"  mit  that  peace  to  be  jeopardized  by  his  imprudence.  ^^ 

But  these  demands  for  slaves  increased.  The  slaveholders  were 
indignant  at  the  loss  of  slaves,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  that 
the  stipulation  of  safety  to  the  "  allies"  of  the  Seminoles  was  un- 
popular in  Florida. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  General  Jessup  wrote  Colonel 
Warner,  of  the  Florida  Militia,  saying,  "  There  is  no  disposition  on 
*'  the  part  of  the  great  body  of  the  Indians  to  renew  hostilities ;  and 
•*  they  will,  I  am  sure,  faithfully  fulfill  their  engagements,  if  the 
*'  inhabitants  of  Florida  be  prudent :  but  any  attempt  to  seize  their 
**  negroes,  or  other  property,  would  be  followed  by  an  instant  resort 
*'  to  arms.  I  have  some  hopes  of  inducing  both  Indians  and  In- 
**  dian  negroes  to  unite  in  bringing  in  the  negroes  taken  from  the 
'*  citizens  during  the  war.^' 

In  this  letter,  General  Jessup  begins  to  modify  his  former  posi- 
tion. He  still  entertains  no  fear  of  the  Indians,  if  their  negroes  or 
other  property  be  not  interfered  with,  and  suggests  the  hope  that  he 
may  effect  an  arrangement  with  the  Indians  and  Indian  negroes  to 
bring  in  (that  is,  to  surrender  up,)  the  negroes  taken  during  the 
war.  This  letter  gives  the  first  evidence,  which  we  find  on  record, 
of  General  Jessup's  intention  to  modify  or  disregard  the  solemn 
compact  he  had  made,  or  to  make  another  with  the  Indians  and  In- 
dian negroes  by  which  they  should  betray  those  who  had  fled  to 
them  during  the  war. 

But  that  he  did  make  some  arrangement  of  that  character  with 
the  chiefs,  we  are  led  to  infer  from  a  letter  bearing  date  May  fifth, 
1837,  addressed  to  General  Jessup  by  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
'  Affairs,  informing  him  that  his  articles  of  capitulation  with  the  Sem- 
inoles had  been  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  "  together  with 


148  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

**  Ais  letters  of  thejirst  and  fifteenth  of  Aprils  and  had  been  ap- 
**  proved  ;^^  and  the  writer  then  adds  :  "In  relation  to  the  negroes 
"  captured  by  the  Seminoles  and  to  be  surrendered,  I  am  directed 
"  to  say,  that  your  arrangement  for  having  them  delivered  to  offi- 
"  cers  of  posts  on  the  St.  John's  River,  is  approved ^  ^ 

This  letter  also  directs  General  Jessup  to  keep  a  registry  of  all 
negroes  delivered  to  citizens,  showing  their  names,  age,  sex,  etc. 

A  general  order,  dated  Tampa  Bay,  April  fifth,  and  numbered 
seventy-nine,  announces  first,  "  The  commanding  General  has  reason 
**  to  believe  that  the  interference  of  unprincipled  white  men  with 
*'  the  negro  property  of  the  Seminole  Indians  will  prevent  their 
"  emigration,  and  lead  to  a  renewal  of  the  war.  Responsible  as  he 
"  is  for  the  peace  and  security  of  the  country,  he  will  not  permit 
"such  interference  under  any  pretense  whatsoever.  And  he  there- 
"  fore  orders  that  no  white  man,  not  in  the  service  of  the  United 
*'  States,  be  allowed  to  enter  any  part  of  the  territory,  between  the 
**  St.  John's  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  south  of  Fort  Drane." 

On  the  eighth  of  April,  General  Jessup  wrote  Colonel  Harney, 
saying,  "  I  have  made  an  arrangement  with  the  chiefs  to-day  to 
"  surrender  the  negroes  of  white  men,  particularly  those  taken  du- 
**  ring  the  war." 

"With  what  particular  chiefs  this  arrangement  was  made,  or  what 
were  the  terms  of  the  arrangement,  the  Author  has  not  learned ;  yet, 
as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  he  represented  it  to  have  been  made  at 
"  Fort  King "  with  Oo-Hadjo,  an  unimportant  chief,  and  then 
attempted  to  hold  the  Seminole  Nation  responsible  for  Co-Hadjo's 
promise.  But  under  these  circumstances,  the  reader  will  ask  what 
consideration  was  paid  Co-Hadjo  to  bribe  him  to  enter  into  such  a 
contract?  That  chief  and  General  Jessup  and  General  Cass,  Sec- 
retary of  War,  must  have  known  he  possessed  no  power  to  bind 

(1)  All  these  communications  may  be  found  at  length  in  the  Fifth  Vol.  Ex.  Doc,  3d  Ses- 
sion XXVth  Congress.  But  these  arrangements  made  with  the  chiefs  are  supposed  to 
have  rested  entirely  in  parole.  No  copy  of  any  such  agreement  has  been  found  by  the 
Author,  who  is  fully  of  opinion  that  it  does  not  exist  in  any  authentic  form. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  149 

the  Seminole  Nation,  nor  to  surrender  those  persons  to  slavery.  It 
will  long  remain  a  subject  of  inquiry.  Why  did  the  War  Depart- 
ment sanction  this  violation  of  the  solemn  articles  of  capitulation, 
which  these  officers  termed  a  treaty,  and  which  certainly  possessed 
all  the  solemnity  and  binding  force  of  a  treaty  ? 

There  is  also  an  inexplicable  obscurity  attending  this  subject. 
General  Jessup  wrote  Colonel  Harney,  on  the  eighth  of  April,  that 
he  had  that  day  made  the  arrangement,  etc.;  while  the  Secretary  of 
War  states  that  he  had  learned  of  this  arrangement  by  General  Jes- 
sup's  two  letters,  dated  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  April.  One  of 
these  letters  appears  to  bear  date  seven  days  before,  and  the  other 
seven  days  after,  the  day  on  which  he  declares  the  arrangement  was 
made.  The  withholding  of  such  fact  seven  days  from  the  War  De- 
partment would  be  as  incompatible  with  military  duty  as  the  giving 
it  seven  days  before  its  existence,  is  irreconcilable  with  the  com- 
mon perceptions  of  mankind. 

In  several  instances.  General  Jessup  had  foretold  that  a  renewal 
of  the  war  would  follow  any  attempt  to  deliver  up  negroes  to  the 
claimants  in  Florida,  and  it  would  appear  that  he  must  have  expect- 
ed that  result ;  but  he  communicated  to  the  commandants  of  nearly 
all  the  different  posts,  that  he  had  made  arrangements  with  the 
chiefs  for  returning  slaves  captured  during  the  war.  But,  up  to 
the  twenty-sixth  of  April,  he  steadily  insisted  that  no  obligation 
rested  upon  the  Indians  to  bring  in  runaway  negroes  who  had  fled 
to  them  before  the  war. 

On  the  twenty-sixth,  he  wrote  Colonel  Brown,  of  St.  Augustine, 
saying:  —  "I  have  made  arrangements  with  the  Indians  for  the 
*'  delivery  of  the  negroes  captured  daring  the  war.  They  are  to 
'*  be  delivered,  if  they  can  be  taken  without  delaying  the  Indians 
**  in  their  movements,  at  the  posts  on  the  St.  John's.  The  Indians 
**  are  not  bound  to  surrender  runaway  negroes.  They  must,  and 
"  shall,  give  up  those  taken  during  the  war:  at  all  events,  they 
"  shall  not  take  them  out  of  tlie  country.  Further  than  that,  I 
"  shall  not  interfere." 


150  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

But  while  relating  facts  on  this  subject,  we  should  be  unfaithful 
to  the  truth  of  history  were  we  to  omit  the  letter  which  this  officer 
wrote,  on  the  following  day,  to  Hon.  J.  L.  Smith,  a  citizen  of 
Florida.  This  letter,  bearing  date  at  Tampa  Bay  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  April,  1837,  says : 

*'  I  received,  yesterday,  your  letter  of  the  eighteenth,  with  a  list 
*'  of  the  slaves  which  you  claim.  Ansel  is  the  only  one  of  the 
"  three  who  has  been  taken.  I  have  him  employed,  at  one  of  the 
**  interior  posts,  as  an  interpreter.  The  negroes  generally  have 
**  taken  the  alarm,  and  but  few  of  them  come  in;  and  those  who 
"  remain  out,  prevent  the  Indians  from  coming.  But  for  the  pre- 
**  mature  attempts  of  some  citizens  of  Florida  to  obtain  possession 
*'  of  their  slaves,  a  majority  of  those  taken  by  the  Indians  during 
*'  the  war,  as  well  as  those  who  absconded  previous  to  it,  would 
"  have  been  secured  before  this  time.  More  than  thirty  negro  men 
**  were  in  and  near  my  camp,  when  some  of  the  citizens,  who  had 
"  lost  negroes,  came  to  demand  them.  The  Indian-negroes  imme- 
"  diately  disappeared,  and  have  not  been  heard  of  since." 

It  is  believed  that,  in  the  conducting  of  this  second  Seminole 
war,  no  act  of  any  public  officer  will  hereafter  appear  more  inex- 
plicable than  the  conduct  of  General  Jessup,  in  regard  to  this 
stipulation  in  favor  of  the  Exiles.  No  person  can  suppose  there 
was  any  doubt  in  regard  to  the  original  design  of  this  stipulation. 
He  at  first  appears  determined  to  carry  it  out  in  good  faith ;  this 
was  before  he  learned  the  complaint  of  the  slaveholders  of  Florida, 
made  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  He  next  expressed  his  intention  to 
make  an  arrangement  with  the  chiefs  to  surrender  negroes  captured 
during  the  war  —  as  though  the  chiefs  were  authorized  to  consign 
"their  allies"  to  slavery.  He  next  says  he  had  made  such  an 
arrangement,  but  fails  to  say  with  whom.  At  length  it  comes  out, 
in  the  future  history,  that  he  alleges  it  to  have  been  made  with  Co- 
Hadjo,  an  obscure  chief,  in  no  way  a  party  to  the  capitulation,  or 
connected  with  it.     And  finally,  in  this  letter  to  Judge  Smith,  he 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  151 

intimates  that  he  would  have  betrayed  many  of  those  allies  to  sla- 
very, if  the  people  of  the  Territory  had  been  quiet. 

Our  present  duty,  however,  is  to  record  facts,  without  asking 
attention  to  the  intended  treachery  or  fraud  of  individuals ;  but 
this  avowed  intention  of  entrapping  the  negroes  by  inducing  them 
to  come  in  under  the  expectation  of  emigrating  West  with  their 
Seminole  friends,  and  then  consign  them  to  bondage,  must  attract 
the  attention  and  excite  the  wonder  of  Christian  men.  This  wonder 
is  increased  by  the  fact,  that  language  is  constantly  used  by  slave- 
holders apparently  intended  to  mislead  the  Northern  reader.  For 
instance,  General  Jessup  speaks  of  slaves  ''captured  during  the 
wanr,^^  as  though  the  Indians  made  prisoners  of  slaves.  This  is 
believed  to  be  entirely  without  foundation.  Slaves  being  regarded 
by  Southern  men  as  property,  incapable  of  thought,  whenever  they 
fled  from  their  masters  and  sought  an  asylum  with  the  Indians,  the 
masters  spoke  of  them  as  captured. 

Soon  as  it  was  known  that  slaves  were  to  be  seized  and  returned, 
claims  were  preferred  from  all  quarters.  The  correspondence  on 
this  subject,  now  in  the  Department  of  War,  would  of  itself  form  a 
volume,  if  quoted  at  length.  Spaniards  sent  in  claims  for  slaves 
lost  while  the  Territory  was  in  possession  of  Spain,  in  1802  and 
1803.  Claims  from  South  Carolina,  from  Georgia,  Alabama  and 
Florida,  and  from  Creek  Indians,  were  presented  to  the  command- 
ants of  different  posts.  Slaveholders  evidently  felt  that  they  were 
to  be  permitted  to  seize  such  colored  prisoners  as  they  could  lay 
their  hands  upon,  and  enslave  them.  They  no  longer  waited  for 
black  prisoners  to  be  brought  to  the  St.  John's,  or  other  posts, 
but  like  wolves  greedy  for  their  prey,  they  hurried  into  the  Indian 
Country,  and  risked  their  lives  in  order  to  secure  victims  for  the 
slave-markets. 

The  Legislative  Council  of  Florida  became  affected  with  this 
general  mania,  and  in  the  most  formal  manner  declared  the  right 
of  masters  to  regain  possession  of  their  slaves,  without  regard  to 
the  Federal  Government  or  its  ofiicers. 


152  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

Finding  General  Jessup  incapable  of  resisting  the  popular 
clamor,  the  claimants  for  slaves  openly  demanded  a  revocation  of 
the  General  Order,  by  which  they  were  prohibited  from  entering  the 
Indian  territory  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  slaves.  A  public  meet- 
ing of  the  citizens  of  various  parts  of  Florida,  was  held  at  San 
Augustine,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  remonstrate  with  General 
Jessup,  and  procure  a  rescission  of  his  order,  No.  79,  prohibiting 
them  from  entering  the  Territory,  between  the  St.  John's  River 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  south  of  Fort  Drane.  The  committee 
addressed  him  in  a  long,  written  protest,  in  which  they  declare, 
**  the  regaining  of  their  slaves  constitutes  an  object  of  scarcely  less 
*'  moment  than  that  of  peace  to  the  country."  ^ 

General  Jessup  now  began  to  modify  his  order.  No.  79,  so  as  to 
admit  citizens  to  enter  the  Territory  as  far  south  as  the  road  leading 
from  Withlacoochee  to  Volusi ;  and,  on  the  first  of  May,  so  in- 
formed Major  McClintock,  commanding  at  Fort  Drane.  On  the 
day  following,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Brig.  General  Armistead, 
directing  that  ofl&cer  to  "consider  Order  No.  79  so  far  modified, 
*'  that  citizens  will  be  permitted  to  visit  any  of  the  posts  on  the  St. 
*'  John's,  and  to  traverse  or  remain  in  any  part  of  the  country 
*'  south  of  Withlacoochee.  There  are  large  herds  of  cattle  in  that 
"  part  of  the  country  which  no  doubt  belong  to  the  citizens,  and  by 
"  allowing  them  to  go  into  the  country,  they  may  perhaps  secure  a 
**  large  portion  of  them." 

It  will  be  recollected,  that  General  Scott  would  not  permit  the 
people  of  Florida  to  interfere  in  the  discharge  of  his  ofiicial  duties, 
and  that  they,  through  their  representative  in  Congress,  had  de- 
manded his  removal  from  command  of  the  army.  They  now  applied 
directly  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  remonstrating  against  the  action 
of  General  Jessup  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  ofiicer  deemed  it  prudent 
to  yield  to  their  dictation.  Be  that  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  he 
now  lent  the  power  of  the  army  to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  citi- 
'  zens.     Ofiicers  and  men  were  detailed  to  take  black  prisoners  — 

(1)  Vide  Ex.  Doc.  225,  3d  Sess.  XXVth  Congress. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  168 

who  had  colue  in  and  surrendered  with  the  expectation  of  emigra- 
ting West  —  from  their  places  of  rendezvous  to  certain  points  where 
it  would  be  most  convenient  for  claimants  to  receive  them. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  April,  Major  Churchill,  aid  to  General 
Jessup,  wrote  Colonel  Harney,  saying,  "  I  am  instructed  by  the 
**  commanding  General  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  to-day  of  your 
*'  letter  of  the  seventh  instant,  and  to  inform  you  that  the  negro 
*'  prisoners  captured  from  the  Indians,  and  supposed  to  belong  to 
*'  the  white  people,  were  sent  from  this  place,  on  the  eleventh  in- 
•'  stant,  to  Lieutenant  D.  H.  Vinton,  at  St.  Marks,  for  the  purpose 
*'  of  being  returned  to  their  owners.  The  Indians  have  agreed  to 
*'  send  all  slaves,  taken  from  white  people  during  the  war,  to  Fort 
*•  Mellon  and  Volusi;  and  runners  are  now  employed  in  the  inte- 
"  rior  on  that  service."  On  the  same  day,  information  was  given 
to  William  De  Payster,  that  seven  of  the  number  sent  to  Volusi 
probably  belonged  to  him.  On  the  same  day  also,  "A.  Forrester" 
was  informed  of  the  fact,  that  those  slaves  "  had  been  sent  to  St. 
*'  Marks,  and  that  six  of  the  number  probably  belonged  to  him." 

Other  plans  were  devised  for  securing  slaves,  as  we  are  informed 
by  a  letter  from  General  Jessup  to  E.  K.  Call,  Governor  of  Flori- 
da, dated  eighteenth  of  April,  1837,  in  which  he  says:  "If  the 
*'  citizens  of  the  territory  be  prudent,  the  war  may  be  considered  at 
"  an  end ;  but  any  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  Indian  negroes,  or 
"  to  arrest  any  of  the  chiefs  or  warriors  as  debtors  or  criminals, 
**  would  cause  an  immediate  resort  to  arms.  The  negroes  control 
"  their  masters ;  and  have  heard  of  the  act  of  your  legislative  coun- 
*'  oil.  Thirty  or  more  of  the  Indian  negro  men  were  near  my  camp 
"on  the  Withlacoochee  in  March  last;  but  the  arrival  of  two  or 
"  three  citizens  of  Florida,  said  to  be  in  search  of  negroes,  caused 
"  them  to  disperse,  and  I  doubt  whether  they  will  come  in  again ; 
"  at  all  events  the  emigration  will  be  delayed  a  month  I  apprehend 
**  in  consequence  of  this  alarm  among  the  negroes." 

The  emigration  of  those  Indians  who  had  come  in  to  Fort  Brooke, 
and  registered  themselves  as  ready  for  emigration,  was  delayed  in 


154  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

consequence  of  the  difficulty  of  collecting  those  who  were  expected ; 
and  General  Jessup  began  to  see  the  effects  which  his  violation  of 
the  articles  of  capitulation  had  wrought  on  the  minds  of  both  In- 
dians and  negroes.  Indeed,  he  had  in  plain  and  distinct  language 
repeatedly  affirmed  that  the  negroes  controlled  the  Indians;  that 
any  interference  with  the  negroes  would  cause  a  resort  to  arms ;  yet 
he  himself  subsequently  ordered  negroes  to  be  sought  out,  separated 
from  their  friends,  and  delivered  over  to  slavery. 

The  ships  were  yet  lying  in  the  harbor.  About  seven  hundred 
Indians  were  encamped  ready  for  emigration,  and  had  been  waiting 
for  others  to  join  them.  Impatient  at  delay  and  disappointment, 
on  the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  he  wrote  Colonel  Harney,  as  follows  : 

*'  If  you  see  Powell  (Osceola)  again,  I  wish  you  to  tell  him  that 
"  I  intend  to  send  exploring  and  surveying  parties  into  every  part 
*'  of  the  country  during  the  summer,  and  that  I  shall  send  out  and 
**  take  all  the  negroes  who  belong  to  the  white  people,  and  he  must 
**  not  allow  the  Indians  or  Indian  negroes  to  mix  with  them.  Tell 
"  him  I  am  sending  to  Cuba  for  bloodhounds  to  trail  them,  and  / 
**  intend  to  hang  every  one  of  them  who  does  not  come  in.^' 

This  intention  to  reenslave  the  Exiles  who  had  recently  taken  up 
their  residence  with  the  Seminoles  became  known,  and  created  gen- 
eral alarm.  Many  of  the  blacks,  who  had  come  in  for  the  purpose 
of  emigrating,  became  alarmed  and  fled;  and  General  Jessup, 
doubtful  whether  more  could  be  obtained  by  peaceful  means,  seized 
about  ninety  Exiles  who  were  confined  within  the  pickets  at  Tampa 
Bay,  on  the  second  of  June,  and  at  once  ordered  them  to  New  Or- 
leans, under  the  charge  of  Lieutenant  G.  H.  Trevitt,  of  the  United 
States  Marines. 

This  struck  the  Indians  and  Exiles  with  astonishment.  The 
chiefs,  warriors  and  families,  numbering  some  seven  hundred,  who 
had  collected  at  Tampa  Bay  for  the  purpose  of  emigrating  to  the 
western  country,  thinking  themselves  betrayed,  now  fled  to  their 
former  fastnesses,  far  in  the  interior,  and  once  more  determined  to 
defend  their  liberties  or  die  in  the  attempt.     A  few,  however,  were 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  155 

secured  at  other  posts,  and  sent  to  New  Orleans,  -where  they  were 
delivered  over  to  Quarter-Master  Clark,  and  confined  at  "Fort 
Pike." 

On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  General  Jessup,  writing  General 
Gadsden  of  South  Carolina,  says  :  "All  is  lost,  and  principally,  I 
•'  fear,  by  the  influence  of  the  negroes  —  the  people  who  were  the 
"  subject  of  our  correspondence.  *  *  *  I  seized,  and  sent  off 
*'  to  New  Orleans,  about  ninety  Indian  negroes,  and  I  have  about 
**  seventeen  here.  I  have  captured  ninety,  the  property  of  citizens; 
"  all  of  whom  have  been  sent  to  St.  Marks  and  St.  Augustine,  ex- 
**  cept  four  at  this  place,  twelve  at  Fort  Mellon,  and  six  who  died." 

General  Jessup  now  saw  that  both  Seminole  Indians  and  negroes 
had  clear  conceptions  of  justice  and  honor.  That  his  efforts  to  de- 
liver over  negroes  to  slavery  had  defeated  the  entire  object  of  the 
articles  of  capitulation  of  the  eighteenth  of  March.  The  Indians 
had  fled.  The  negroes,  except  those  who  were  imprisoned,  had 
fled.  The  twenty-six  vessels,  collected  at  Tampa  Bay  to  trans- 
port them  to  New  Orleans,  were  yet  idle ;  and,  to  use  his  own 
words,   "  all  was  lost!  " 

Abraham,  acting  for  his  brethren  while  West,  in  1833,  had  caused 
the  article  to  be  inserted  in  the  supplemental  treaty,  giving  the 
Seminoles  a  separate  country  for  their  settlement. 

In  forming  the  articles  of  capitulation  with  general  Jessup,  he 
again  exhibited  his  capacity  for  negotiation ;  obtaining  the  insertion 
of  an  article  which,  if  carried  out,  would  have  proved  a  triumph- 
ant vindication  of  their  cause.  But  from  this  second  manifestation 
of  his  powers  for  negotiation,  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
found  it  necessary  to  recede,  in  order  to  maintain  its  designs  of 
enslaving  the  Exiles. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

TIIE  RENEWAL  AND  PROSECUTION  OF  THE  WAR, 

Objects  of  the  first  and  second  Seminole  War  — Action  of  General  Jessup  and  tbe  Execu- 
tive in  regard  to  the  Capitulation  —  His  alleged  arrangement  —  Resumes  hostilities  with 
intent  to  carry  out  original  design  of  General  Jackson  —  Establishes  a  series  of  forays 
for  the  capture  of  Negroes  —  Choctaws  and  Delawares  employed  —  Cherokees  refuse  — 
Send  a  Delegation  to  make  peace  —  Ross,  the  Cherokee  Chief,  addres!>-es  a  Letter  to  Wild 
Cat,  Osceola,  and  others  —  Difficulty  with  Creek  Warriors  —  General  Order  —  General 
Jessup'R  policy  — Creek  Warriors  discharged  — Capture  of  King  Phillip  — His  message 
to  Wild  Cat  —  Influence  of  Cherokees  —  Wild  Cat  bears  plume,  etc.,  from  Osceola  to  GeH' 
eral  Jessup,  proposing  to  negotiate  —  Jessup  Fends  back  answer  —  Wild  Cat,  Osceola  and 
Exiles  come  in  to  Fort  Peyton  —  Are  betrayed  —  Seized  as  prisoners  —  Imprisoned  at  San 
Augustine —  Wild  Cat  escapes  —  Thrilling  Narrative  —  Cherokee  Delegation  induce  Mic- 
anopy,  Cloud  and  others  to  visit  General  Jessup  —  They  too  are  seized,  and  one  hundred 
Exiles  captured  —  Extraordinary  conduct  of  General  Jessup  —  Cherokees  leave  in  disgust. 

By  the  articles  of  capitulation,  entered  into  on  the  sixth  of 
March  (1837),  the  second  Seminole  War  had  been  terminated. 
General  Jessup  so  regarded  it,  and  so  declared  it.  The  Exiles 
and  Indians  so  regarded  it,  and  some  eight  hundred  came  in  under 
it  and  registered  their  names  for  emigration,  in  good  faith.  The 
people  of  Florida  regarded  it  in  that  light,  and  remonstrated  against 
it.  They  declared  it  a  treaty  of  peace ;  but  complained  of  its 
terms,  for  the  reason  that  it  gave  up  the  slaves  whom  they  claimed 
to  own. 

Learning  this  dissatisfaction  to  exist  among  the  slaveholders  of 
Florida,  General  Jessup  expressed,  in  his  correspondence,  an  inten- 
tion of  making  an  arrangement  with  the  chiefs,  by  which  the  slaves 
belonging  to  the  citizens  of  Florida,  captured  during  the  war, 

(156) 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  157 

should  be  given  up.  Why  those  claimed  by  the  citizens  of  Florida 
should  be  given  up,  and  those  escaped  from  Georgia  and  Alabama 
remain  free,  he  has  failed  to  show  !  Why  those  who  escaped,  or, 
as  he  expresses  it,  were  captured  during  the  war,  should  be  return- 
ed, and  those  who  escaped  or  had  been  captured  the  day  previous 
to  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  should  not  be  returned,  he  has 
not  explained ;  but  he  soon  announced,  that  he  had  made  an  ar- 
rangement with  the  chiefs  to  deliver  up  these  persons;  and  at  once 
set  the  army  at  work  to  restore  them.  This  restoration  of  slaves,  of 
itself,  constituted  a  renewal  of  the  war.  It  had  caused  the  first 
Seminole  war,  in  1816  :  it  had  caused  this  second  Seminole  war, 
and  General  Jessup  was  himself  conscious  that  such  interference 
with  the  Exiles  would  induce  a  renewal  of  hostilities.  That  class 
of  Exiles  was  numerous;  they  constituted  a  portion  of  the  "allies" 
for  whose  safety  he  had  solemnly  pledged  the. faith  of  Govern- 
ment. 

It  were  useless  for  the  friends  of  the  then  existing  Admin- 
istration to  say,  that  General  Jessup  made  an  arrangement  with 
the  Indian  chiefs  for  delivering  up  these  people.  The  Exiles 
were  the  persons  interested  in  their  own  safety,  for  which  they 
had  fought.  No  chiefs  had  authority  to  sell  them,  or  to  deliver 
them  over  to  interminable  bondage.  But  the  reader  will  inquire, 
with  what  particular  chiefs  was  this  arrangement  made?  When, 
and  where  was  it  made  ?  What  were  its  terms  ?  The  only  an- 
swers, so  far  as  we  are  informed,  are  to  be  found  in  the  interroga- 
tories propounded  to  Osceola  and  other  chiefs,  when  they  were 
captured,  at  Fort  Peyton,  on  the  twenty-first  of  October  following. 
General  Jessup's  first  written  interrogatory  was,  "Are  they  (the 
*'  chiefs)  prepared  to  deliver  up  the  negroes  taken  from  the  citizens? 
**  Why  have  they  not  surrendered  them  already,  as  promised  hy 
"  Go-IIadjo,  at  Fort  KingV^  Here  he  merely  claimed  a  promise 
from  Co-Hadjo,  an  obscure  chief,  who  was  not  a  party  to  the  capit- 
ulation—  did  not  sign  it,  and,  so  far  as  we  are  informed,  was  not 
present  when  it  was  entered  into. 


158  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

But,  to  show  that  no  obligation  whatever  rested  on  the  chiefs  in 
this  matter,  his  next  interrogatories  were,  "  Have  the  chiefs  of  the 
*'  Nation  held  a  Council  in  relation  to  the  subjects  of  the  talk  at 
"  Fort  King?  What  chiefs  attended  that  Council,  and  what  was 
**  their  decision  ?  "  These  questions  seem  to  admit,  that  Co-Hadjo 
had  merely  promised  to  lay  the  subject  before  the  chiefs  in  Council; 
and  here  we  find  the  reasons,  on  the  part  of  General  Jessup,  for 
not  laying  the  arrangement  before  the  people :  yet,  under  these 
circumstances,  that  officer  charges  bad  faith  upon  the  Indians  and 
Exiles,  in  renewing  the  war.  The  Exiles  possessed  no  means  of 
informing  the  American  people,  and  other  nations,  as  to  these  facts, 
or  of  maintaining  their  honor  against  this  charge  of  having  violated 
their  plighted  faith. 

In  renewing  hostilities,  General  Jessup  appears  to  have  fully 
determined  on  carrying  out  the  designs  of  General  Jackson,  in 
1816,  when  he  directed  General  Gaines  to  "destroy  the  fort,  and 
return  the  slaves  to  their  owners. ^^  From  this  time  forward,  he 
lent  his  energies,  and  the  power  of  the  army,  to  the  object  of  cap- 
turing and  returning  slaves.  He  also  deemed  it  necessary  to 
change  the  mode  of  prosecuting  the  war,  and  to  make  it  a  series  of 
forays  for  the  capture  and  enslavement  of  the  Exiles. 

He  had,  the  previous  year,  entered  into  a  contract  with  the 
Creek  Indians,  by  which  he  stipulated  to  pay  them  a  large  pecuni- 
ary compensation,  and  to  allow  them  to  hold  all  the  plunder 
(negroes)  whom  they  might  capture,  as  property.  He  now  evi- 
dently believed  that  such  inducements,  held  out  to  the  Florida 
militia,  would  have  an  effect  to  stimulate  them  to  greater  effort. 

On  the  eleventh  of  June,  he  wrote  Colonel  Warren,  saying, 
"  There  is  no  obligation  to  spare  the  property  of  the  Indians ;  they 
**  have  not  spared  that  of  the  citizens.  Their  negroes,  cattle  and 
**  horses,  as  well  as  other  property  which  they  possess,  will  belong 
**  to  the  corps  by  which  they  are  captured," 

The  same  orders  were  communicated  to  the  Commandants  of 
other  posts,  and  to  the  militia  from  other  States ;  and  the  system 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  159 

by  which  the  negroes  and  other  property  were  to  be  distributed 
among  the  captors,  was  prescribed  in  a  letter  to  Colonel  Heilman, 
declaring  the  field  officers  entitled  to  three  shares,  the  company 
officers  to  receive  two  shares,  and  the  non-commissioned  officers 
and  soldiers  one  share  each. 

These  arrangements  were,  of  course,  all  duly  certified  to  the 
War  Department,  and  approved,  and  thereby  became  acts  of  the 
Administration.  The  letters  of  General  Jessup,  written  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1837,  to  Colonel  Crowell,  at  Fort  Mitchell, 
Alabama ;  to  Colonel  Mills,  of  Newmansville,  Florida  ;  to  Thomas 
Craghill,  Esq.,  of  x\labama;  to  Captain  David  S.  Walker,  Captain 
Bonneville  and  Captain  Armstrong ;  ^  all  show,  conclusively,  that 
the  war  was  to  be  conducted  by  the  organization  of  slave-catching 
forays,  in  which  the  troops  were  expected  to  penetrate  the  Indian 
Country  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  negroes. 

During  the  sickly  season  no  active  operations  against  the  allies 
could  be  carried  on,  and  the  time  was  occupied  in  preparing  for 
the  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  hostilities,  so  soon  as  the  un- 
healthy months  should  be  passed.  In  order  to  carry  out  these 
forays,  the  Indians  residing  west  of  the  Mississippi  were  applied  to 
for  assistance.  The  Choctaws  and  Delawares  furnished  many  indi- 
viduals whose  low  moral  development  did  not  prevent  their  engaging 
in  the  proposed  piratical  expeditions,  for  seizing  and  enslaving  their 
fellow-men  ;  but  of  the  precise  number  of  individuals  thus  furnish- 
ed, we  have  no  authentic  information.  The  Cherokees  however 
appear  to  have  rejected  a  proposition  which,  to  them,  appeared 
incompatible  with  the  civilization  of  that  tribe ;  they  evidently  felt 
deep  sympathy  for  their  brethren,  the  Seminoles,  as  well  as  for  the 
Exiles  They  agreed  to  furnish  a  delegation  who  should,  in  a 
friendly  manner,  visit  the  Seminoles,  state  to  them  the  condition  of 
the  Western  Country,  and  advise  them  in  good  faith  to  emigrate. 

At  that  period  John  Ross  was  acting  as  principal  chief  of  the 
Cherokee  Nation.     He  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  white  man,  who 


(1)  These  Letters  may  be  found  in  Ex.  Doc.  226,  3d  Sess.  XXVth  Congress. 


160  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

had  long  been  engaged  as  an  Indian  trader.  His  mother  was  a 
Cherokee.  Ross  had  been  educated  ;  had  seen  the  advantages  of 
civilization,  and  of  Christianity,  and  was  at  the  time,  and  had  long 
been  engaged,  in  promoting  civilization  among  his  own  people.  It 
will  readily  be  supposed,  that  the  feelings  of  such  a  man  would 
revolt  at  a  proposition  for  his  people  to  engage  in  the  capture  and 
enslavement  of  any  portion  of  the  human  family.  The  correspond- 
ence between  Ross  and  the  Secretary  of  War  is  interesting,  and  its 
perusal  would  well  compensate  the  curious  reader.^ 

This  delegation  from  the  Cherokees  consisted  of  some  twelve  of 
their  most  influential  men.  They  bore  with  them  an  address  from 
Ross,  written  with  great  ability  and  sincerity.  Among  other  things, 
he  assured  the  Seminoles  that  they  might  confide  in  the  justice  and 
honor  of  the  United  States. ^  This  address  was  directed  to  Mican- 
opy,  Osceola  and  Wild  Cat,  the  three  most  powerful  and  warlike 
chiefs  among  the  Seminoles. 

The  Creek  warriors  had  engaged  to  serve  until  the  Seminoles 
were  conquered ;  but  after  the  death  of  Captain  Moniac,  and  their 
other  friends  who  fell  in  the  Great  Wahoo  Swamp,  they  had  shown 
a  disposition  rather  to  avoid  danger  than  to  catch  negroes  ;  and  it 
was  deemed  proper  to  discharge  them.  But  diJ0&culties  intervened 
in  regard  to  the  division  of  the  negroes  claimed  to  have  been  cap- 
tui'ed  by  them,  while  acting  in  concert  with  our  troops.  Some 
ninety  negroes  had  been  captured,  in  whose  bones  and  muscles, 
blood  and  sinews,  seven  hundred  Creek  warriors  claimed  an  inter- 
est; while  the  Tennesseeans,  and  other  troops,  had  been  in  the 
field  acting  with  the  Creeks  at  the  time  of  capture  ;  and  the  Creeks 
could,  in  equity,  claim  only  a  pro  rata  interest.  General  Jessup 
however  met  the  difiiculty  with  promptness,  and,  to  put  an  end  to 
all  future  strife  and  discontent,  he  issued  the  following : 

(1)  This  Correspondence  may  be  found  in  the  8th  voL  Ex.  Doc,  2d  Sess.  XXVth  Cong., 
No.  285. 

(2)  Of  this  declaration  he  had  subsequent  cause  to  repent,  and  most  eloquently  he  ex- 
pressed his  mortification,  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  AVar.  Vide  his  Letter  of  Jan.  2, 
1838,  in  the  Document  last  quoted. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  161 

"ORDER  No.  175.  Tampa  Bat,  Sept.  6,  1837. 

"1.  The  Seniinolo  negroes  captured  by  the  army,  will  be  taken 
"  on  account  of  Government  and  held  subject  to  the  orders  of  the 
*'  Secretary  of  War. 

"  2.  The  sum  of  eight  thousand  dollars  will  be  paid  to  the  Creek 
**  chiefs  and  warriors  by  whom  they  were  captured,  or  who  were 
*'  present  at  their  capture,  in  full  for  their  claims;  the  amount  to 
"  be  apportioned  among  the  battalions  in  proportion  to  the  numbers 
"  respectively  taken  by  each,  viz  :  To  the  first  battalion,  five  thou- 
*'  sand  seven  hundred  dollars ;  to  the  second  battalion,  two  thou- 
*•  sand  dollars ;  and  to  the  spy  battalion,  three  hundred  dollars. 

"3.  To  induce  the  Creeks  to  take  alive,  and  not  destroy,  the 
*•  negroes  of  citizens  who  had  been  captured  by  the  Seminoles,  a 
'*  reward  was  promised  them  for  all  they  should  secure.  They 
**  have  captured  and  secured  thirty-five,  who  have  been  returned  to 
"  their  owners.  2^ he  owners  have  paid  nothing,  but  the  promise 
"  to  the  Indians  must  be  fulfilled.  The  sum  of  twenty  dollars  will 
"  be  allowed  them  for  each,  from  the  public  funds. 

"4.  Lieutenant  Frederick  Searle  is  charged  with  the  execution 
"  of  this  order.  He  will  cause  accounts  to  be  made,  in  the  name 
"  of  the  United  States,  and  receipts  taken  from  the  Indians  in  full, 
**  for  £.11  claims  to  the  negroes,  both  of  the  Seminoles  and  citizens. 
*'  Lieutenant  Searle  will  call  on  the  Commanding  General  for  funds 
*•  to  enable  him  to  comply  with  this  order. 

*'  5.  Until  further  orders,  the  Seminole  negroes  will  remain  at 
**  Fort  Pike,  Louisiana,  in  charge  of  the  Assistant  Quarter-Master 
"  at  New  Orleans,  and  in  custody  of  the  Commanding  Officer  of 
*•  the  post.     They  will  be  fed  and  clothed  at  the  public  expense.'* 

This  order  was  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  on  the 
seventh  of  October  was  approved  and  became  the  act  of  the  Execu- 
tive ;  and  the  people  of  the  nation  became  the  actual  owners  of 
these  ninety  slaves,  so  far  as  the  Executive  could  bind  them  to  the 
ownership  of  human  flesh. 
11 


162 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


Such  was,  undoubtedly,  the  view  of  General  Jessup,  who,  on  the 
fourteenth  of  September,  wrote  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs, 
saying,  "The  Seminole  negro  prisoners  are  now  the  pro/9er^3/ o/" 
**  the  puhlic.  I  have  promised  Abraham  the  freedom  of  his  family, 
"if  he  prove  faithful  to  us;  and  I  shall  surely  hang  him  if  he  be 
"not  faithful."! 

This  refinement  in  cruelty  by  which  the  life  and  liberty  of  a  man 
and  his  family  is  held  out  as  a  bribe  to  induce  him  to  prove  traitor 
to  his  own  kindred  and  nation,  or  to  be  hanged,  and  his  family  en- 
slaved in  case  of  refusal,  appears  worthy  a  place  in  the  history  of 
our  Government,  in  order  that  our  successors  may  have  a  correct 
idea  of  its  administration.  The  intention  to  enslave  Abraham's  wife, 
who  was  an  Indian  woman  and  had  been  the  wife  of  the  former 
chief  of  the  nation,  and  now  the  wife  of  the  principal  chief  of  the 
Exiles,  exhibits  a  total  disregard  of  the  feelings  and  sympathies  of 
the  human  heart,  as  well  as  of  the  prejudices  and  condition  of  both 
Exiles  and  Seminoles.  These  Exiles  were  at  Fort  Pike,  near  New 
Orleans,  where  we  will  leave  them  for  the  present,  to  pursue  our 
narrative  of  events  which  were  transpiring  in  Florida. 

On  the  ninth  of  September,  General  Jessup  wrote  Lieutenant 
Searle,  as  follows:  "  You  will  muster  the  Creek  regiment  out  of 
"  service,  and  honorably  discharge  them.  Then  you  will  pro(  eed 
"  to  New  Orleans,  and  obtain  funds  to  pay  the  Creeks  for  the  cap- 
"  tured  negroes.  The  chiefs  and  warriors  who  were  actually  in  the 
"  field  at  the  time  of  the  capture  of  negroes  are  alone  to  receive  any 
*'  part  of  the  sum  allowed.  Those  who  remained  in  camp  and  did 
**  not  march  are  to  receive  nothing. 

"  You  will  examine  the  prisoners  at  '  Fort  Pike,'  (the  ninety 
"  Exiles,)  and  cause  an  accurate  description  to  be  taken  of  them, 
"  specifying  their  names,  ages,  height,  sex,  and  such  other  particu- 
"  lars  as  you  may  deem  important.  They  must  all  be  comfortably 
"  clothed,   at  the  public  expense,   immediately,  by  the  Assistant 

(1)  These  facts  may  all  be  found  officially  recorded  in  Ex.  Doc.  78,  2d  Sess.  XXVth  Con- 
gress, and  Ex.  Doc.  225,  3d  Sess.  XXVtb  Congress. 


TUB    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  163 

"  Quarter-Master  at  New  Orleans,  who  will  keep  them  properly 
-clad." 

It  would  appear  that  some  difficulty  arose  with  the  Choctaw  and 
Delaware  warriors,  who  had  expected  to  receive  higher  wages  than 
the  law  allowed  for  serving  in  the  army.  Such  had  been  done  with 
the  Creeks,  and  undoubtedly  had  been  promised  the  Choctaws  and 
Delawares.  To  quiet  these  discontents.  General  Jessup  wrote 
Colonel  Davenport,  on  the  seventh  of  November,  saying,  "  I  regret 
**  the  circumstance  to  which  you  refer.  The  importance  of  fulfill- 
"  ing  all  our  engagements  with  the  Indians  with  the  most  scrupu- 
'*  lous  good  faith,  is  unquestionable.  To  dismiss  them  now,  might 
"  not  only  cost  us  another  campaign,  but  may  cause  us  difficulties 
*'  on  our  western  border.  We  must  retain  them  at  all  hazards.  I 
**  wish  you  to  assure  them,  that  our  laws  do  not  authorize  the  pay- 
"  ment  of  the  sum  stipulated;  but  that  the  enemy  has  a  large 
**  property,  consisting  of  ponies,  cattle  and  negroes,  and  that  I  will 
"  pay  them  for  all  the  cattle  they  take,  and  they  will  be  paid  ffty 
**  dollars  for  every  negro.  *  *  *  Represent  to  them  also,  that 
*'  our  country  is  just,  and  if  they  will  serve  well,  I  will  take  their 
"  chiefs  to  Washington,  and  represent  their  case  to  the  Great  Coun- 
"  cil  (Congress),  and  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  get  all  that  has 
*'  been  promised  them."  He  also  wrote  Captain  Armstrong  of  the 
Choctaw  agency,  and  Captain  Bonneville,  commanding  the  Choc- 
taw warriors,  encouraging  the  Indians  to  faithful  effort  in  order  to 
obtain  negroes. 

Some  of  the  Georgia  volunteers  appeared  anxious  to  know  defi- 
nitely the  terms  on  which  they  were  to  expose  their  lives  in  these 
slave-catching  forays ;  and  a  letter  was  addressed  to  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral C.  H.  Nelson,  commanding  the  Georgia  volunteers,  by  J.  A. 
Chambers,  aid  to  General  Jessup,  saying,  "  We  have  not  the  order 
"  book  with  us  at  this  moment ;  but  the  General  directs  me  to  say, 
**  that  all  Indian  property  captured  belongs  to  the  capturers." 

On  the  same  day,  General  Hernandez  of  the  Florida  militia, 
found  moans  to  secure  King  Phillip,  an  aged  chief,  who  lived  some 


164  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

distance  south  of  San  Augustine,  with  eleven  others  of  his  tribe. 
It  may  be  regarded  as  somewhat  unfortunate,  that  history  has  failed 
to  give  us  the  particulars  of  this  capture.  The  subsequent  conduct 
of  General  Hernandez  may  lead  the  reader  to  look  back  upon  this 
incident  of  the  war  with  some  desire  to  know  the  manner  of  King 
Phillip's  capture  ;  to  understand  whether  it  was  peaceful  or  hostile  ; 
and'  whether  any,  and  how  many,  white  men,  and  how  many  In- 
dians and  Exiles,  fell  in  the  conflict  ?  But  we  must  pass  over  these 
particulars,  as  we  have  no  authentic  account  concerning  them. 
General  Jessup,  when  called  on  to  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
as  to  violations  of  the  flag  of  truce,  merely  remarks,  incidentally, 
that  King  Phillip  and  his  companions  were  captured  by  General 
Hernandez. 

Phillip  had  long  been  regarded  as  a  chief  of  influence  among 
the  Seminoles.  Finding  himself  a  prisoner,  he  became  anxious  to 
see,  and  converse  with,  some  of  his  friends ;  and  General  Hernan- 
dez, at  his  request,  gave  permission  for  one  of  the  prisoners  to  carry 
this  talk  to  his  family,  inviting  them  to  come  and  visit  him  in  his 
captivity.  The  message  was  faithfully  delivered  to  his  oldest  son, 
already  known  to  the  reader  as  "Wild  Cat."  He  had  been  an 
active  warrior  at  the  massacre  of  Dade's  battalion  ;  had  been  sub- 
sequently elevated  to  the  dignity  of  a  chief;  had  visited  General 
Jessup,  under  the  articles  of  capitulation  of  March,  1837,  and  at 
that  time  delivered  up  "  Louis  "  as  his  slave,  demanding  his  trans- 
portation West  under  those  articles;  and  when  he  learned  the 
intention  of  General  Jessup  to  deliver  up  a  portion  of  the  Exiles  to 
slavery,  ho  left  Fort  Brooke,  and  again  swearing  vengeance  upon 
the  enslavers  of  mankind,  became  one  of  the  most  active  warriors 
in  the  Seminole  Nation. 

The  Cherokee  Delegation  had  reached  the  Indian  country.  The 
address  of  John  Ross  was  directed  to  Wild  Cat  and  Osceola,  as 
two  of  the  principal  Seminole  chiefs.  They  were  together,  and 
received  the  talk  of  Ross,  the  Cherokee  chief,  assuring  them  of  the 
integrity  and  honor  of  the  United  States.     After  due  consideration, 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  165 

it  was  determined  that  Wild  Cat  should  comply  with  the  filial  obli- 
gations due  to  his  aged  father,  bearing  with  him  the  peace  token  of 
Osceola,  consisting  of  a  neatly  wrought  bead  pipe,  together  with  a 
beautiful  white  plume,  to  be  presented  to  General  Hernandez,  as 
the  assurance  of  Osceola's  pacific  desires.  Co-Hadjo,  another  chief, 
bore  a  similar  message  and  emblems. 

These  were  received  by  General  Hernandez,  who  communicated 
immediate  information  thereof  to  General  Jessup.  They  were 
propositions  for  negotiating  a  peace,  forwarded  at  the  special  request 
and  advice  of  the  Cherokee  Delegation,  who  were  active  in  their 
efforts  to  stop  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  restore  harmony  between 
our  nation  and  the  Seminoles.  By  direction  of  General  Jessup, 
Hernandez  returned  various  presents  to  Osceola  by  Co-Hadjo,  say- 
ing, that  General  Jessup  and  himself  would  be  glad  to  hold  a  con- 
ference with  them.  The  same  assurances  and  presents  were  given 
to  Wild  Cat,  who  also  became  the  messenger  between  General  Jes- 
sup and  General  Hernandez  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  brethren  on 
the  other.  With  the  hope  of  effecting  an  arrangement  beneficial  to 
his  friends  and  to  mankind,  Wild  Cat  left  San  Augustine  with  the 
promise  to  return  in  ten  days. 

Punctual  to  the  day,  he  returned  with  the  very  satisfactory  assu- 
rance, that  Osceola,  and  one  hundred  Indians  and  as  many  Exiles, 
were  on  their  way  toward  San  Augustine,  for  the  purpose  of  enter- 
ing upon  negotiations.  With  the  intention  of  hastening  their  arri- 
val, and  manifesting  an  earnest  desire  for  peace.  General  Hernan- 
dez proceeded,  with  Wild  Cat  and  other  friendly  Seminoles,  to  meet 
the  advancing  chiefs,  some  twenty  miles  south-west  of  San  Augus- 
tine, at  a  place  called  "Pelican  Creek."  Here  he  learned  that 
Osceola  would  join  them  at  evening.  General  Hernandez  left  a 
quantity  of  provisions  with  them,  and,  desiring  them  to  select  their 
encampment  for  the  next  day  (Oct.  22)  somewhere  near  Fort  Pey- 
ton, at  which  place  he  would  meet  them  with  a  proper  escort,  left 
them,  and  returned  to  San  Augustine.  They  accordingly  encamped 
the  next  day  near  Fort  Peyton,  situated  seven  miles  south-west  from 


166 


THE   EXILES   OP   FLORIDA. 


San  Augustine.  They  approached  their  encampment  with  great 
formality :  Osceola  and  other  chiefs  bearing  white  flags,  expecting 
to  meet  a  suitable  escort  under  General  Hernandez,  with  the  well- 
understood  intentions  of  entering  upon  diplomatic  negotiations  with 
that  grave  dignity  for  which  the  Indian  is  so  much  distinguished. 
These  flags  were  kept  flying  in  their  encampment  through  the  night 
and  the  next  moniing. 

At  ten  o'clock  (Oct.  23),  General  Hernandez,  accompanied  by 
bis  staflT  and  by  most  of  General  Jessup's  staff,  in  full  dress,  met 
them  as  had  been  promised,  with  the  apparent  purpose  of  escorting 
them  to  head-quarters  at  San  Augustine.  After  the  ordinary  salu- 
tations had  been  exchanged,  instead  of  preparing  to  march,  General 
Hernandez,  from  a  written  paper  signed  by  General  Jessup,  read 
the  following  questions  addressed  to  Osceola  :  '*  Are  you  prepared 
"  at  once  to  deliver  up  the  negroes  taken  from  the  citizens  ?  Why 
**  have  you  not  surrendered  them  already,  as  promised  by  Co-Hadjo 
**  at  Fort  King?  Have  the  chiefs  of  the  nation  held  a  council  on 
"  this  subject  ?"  1 

Osceola  exhibited  the  most  perfect  astonishment  at  hearing  these 
questions  propounded  at  such  a  moment.  He  appeared,  however, 
instantly  to  comprehend  his  situation.  Turning  to  Co-Hadjo,  he 
said  to  him  in  his  own  dialect,  "You  must  answer;  I  am  choked," 
at  the  same  time  exhibiting  unusual  emotion  for  an  Indian  chief.^ 

(1)  The  interrogatories  were  embraced  in  a  paper,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy: 

"memoranda   op  specific   questions  to  be  addressed  to   OSCEOLA. 

"  Ascertain  the  object  of  the  Indians  in  coming  in  at  this  time.  Also  their  expectations. 
Are  they  prepared  to  deliver  up  the  negroes  taken  fi  om  the  citizens,  at  once  ?  Why  have 
they  not  surrendered  them  already,  as  promi.sed  by  Co-IIadjo  at  Fort  King  ?  Uave  the 
chiefs  of  the  nation  held  a  Council  in  relation  to  the  talk  at  Fort  King  ?  What  chiefs  at- 
tended that  Council,  and  what  was  their  determination  ?  Have  the  chiefs  sent  a  messenger 
with  the  decision  of  the  Council?  Have  the  principal  chiefs  Micanopy,  Jumper,  Cloud  and 
Alligator  sent  a  messenger  ?  and  if  so,  what  is  their  message  ?     "Why  have  not  those  chiefs 

come  themselves  ? 

"  (Signed)  THOS.  S.  JESSUP,  Major  General  Commanding, 

"  San  Augcswnb,  August  21st,  1837." 

(2)  From  the  first  and  second  interrogatories,  the  reader  will  see  that  General  Jessup 
was  fully  conscious,  that  the  attempt  to  deliver  over  those  negroes   to  slavery  who  were 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  167 

At  this  moment,  by  a  concerted  signal,  armed  troops  at  once 
surrounded  the  whole  encampment,  gathered  rapidly  in  upon  the 
occupants,  made  prisoners  of  them,  and  at  once  disarmed  them. 
They  were  then  marched  to  San  Augustine,  and  closely  imprisoned 
in  the  ancient  castle  of  that  city.  There  was  about  an  equal  num- 
ber of  Exiles  captured,  at  this  violation  of  our  plighted  faith ;  they 
were,  however,  sent  to  Tampa  Bay  for  safe  keeping. 

Wild  Cat,  having  been  made  the  instrument  for  betraying  Osce- 
ola and  other  friends,  felt  great  indignation  at  what  he  regarded  as 
the  perfidy  practiced  upon  him  and  his  brethren,  and  determined 
to  escape  from  his  imprisonment  so  soon  as  an  opportunity  should 
offer.  But  he  was  imprisoned  in  the  Castle  of  San  Augustine, 
whose  gray  walls,  lofty  turrets,  battlements  and  Catholic  chapel, 
must  have  presented  to  the  young  warrior  a  spectacle  in  striking 
contrast  with  the  rude  huts  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to  lodge, 
in  the  interior  of  the  Territory.  We  prefer  letting  him  tell  the 
story  of  his  escape,  which  we  copy  from  the  works  of  one  who  was 
then  serving  in  our  army.^     Said  Wild  Cat : 

claimed  by  the  citizens  of  Florida,  had  been  the  sole  cause  for  renewing  the  war.  He  dic- 
tated the  first  and  most  important  interrogatory  propounded  to  Osceola — "^re  you  pre- 
pared at  once  to  deliver  up  the  negroes  taken  from  the  citizens? ^^ 

But  the  second  shows  an  important  fact  which  had,  so  far  as  we  have  information,  been 
kept  from  the  public  :  The  words,  "  Why  have  they  not  already  surrendered  them,  as 
promised  by  Co- Had  jo  at  Fort  King?"  This  shows  that  the  arrangement  reported  by 
him  to  have  been  made  with  the  chiefs,  was  made  with  Co-IIadjo  only.  It  will  be  recol- 
lected, that  after  the  articles  of  capitulation,  in  March,  when  the  people  of  Florida  began 
to  demand  their  negroes.  General  Jessup  said  he  would  endeavor  to  make  an  arrange- 
mnnt  with  the  chiefs  for  delivering  up  those  negroes  who  had  been  captured  during  the  war. 
After  th«  protest  of  the  people  of  Florida  had  been  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
against  the  peace,  unless  they  were  to  get  their  negroes,  and  the  public  meeting  held  at 
San  Augustine,  which  expressed  the  same  views,  he  reported  that  he  had  made  such 
arrangement  with  the  chiefs;  but  with  how  many,  or  with  which  particular  rA/>/5,  was 
unknown  until  tliis  interrogatory  disclosed  the  fact,  that  it  was  made  with  one  obscure 
chief  only.  And  whether  he  were  intoxicated,  or  sober,  at  the  time  he  attempted 
to  act  without  any  authority,  to  consign  hundreds  of  his  fellow-beings  to  slavery,  without 
their  knowledge  or  consent,  does  not  appear.  But  every  reader  at  once  propounds  the 
question,  What  ivere  the  terms  of  that  arrangement?  If  it  existed,  it  should  have  been 
reported  verbatim  to  the  War  Department,  and  made  known  to  the  public. 

(1)  Capt.  Sprague,  of  the  Regular  service. 


168 


THE    EXILES   OP    FLORIDA. 


**  We  were  in  a  small  room,  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  square.  All 
*'  the  light  admitted  was  through  a  hole  (embrasure)  about  eighteen 
**  feet  from  the  floor.  Through  this  we  must  effect  our  escape,  or 
**  remain  and  die  with  sickness.  A  sentinel  was  constantly  posted 
"  at  the  door.  As  we  looked  at  it  from  our  bed,  we  thought  it 
"  small,  but  believed  that,  could  we  get  our  heads  through,  we 
"  should  have  no  further  or  serious  difficulty.  To  reach  the  hole 
**  was  the  first  object.  In  order  to  effect  this,  we  from  time  to  time 
"  cut  up  the  forage  bags  allowed  us  to  sleep  on,  and  made  them 
*•  into  ropes.  The  hole  I  could  not  reach  when  upon  the  shoulder 
"of  my  companion ;  but,  while  standing  upon  his  shoulder,  I 
**  worked  a  knife  into  a  crevice  of  the  stone- work  as  far  as  I  could 
**  reach,  and  upon  this  I  raised  myself  to  the  aperture,  when  I 
*'  found  that,  with  some  reduction  of  person,  I  could  get  through 
"  In  order  to  reduce  ourselves  as  much  as  possible,  we  took  medi- 
"  cine  five  days.  Under  the  pretext  of  being  very  sick,  we  were 
*•  permitted  to  obtain  the  roots  we  required.  For  some  weeks  we 
"  watched  the  moon,  in  order  that,  on  the  night  of  our  attempt,  it 
"  should  be  as  dark  as  possible.  At  the  proper  time  we  com- 
"  menced  the  medicine,  calculating  on  the  entire  disappearance  of 
"  the  moon. 

*'  The  keeper  of  this  prison,  on  the  night  determined  upon  to 
"  make  the  effort,  annoyed  us  by  frequently  coming  into  the  room, 
"  and  talking  and  singing.  At  first  we  thought  of  tying  him  and 
"  putting  his  head  in  a  bag,  so  that,  should  he  call  for  assistance, 
*•  he  could  not  be  heard.  We  first,  however,  tried  the  experiment 
"  of  pretending  to  be  asleep,  and,  when  he  returned,  to  pay  no 
"  regard  to  him.  This  accomplished  our  object.  He  came  in  and 
"  went  immediately  out ;  and  we  could  hear  him  snore,  in  the 
**  immediate  vicinity  of  the  door.  I  then  took  the  rope  we  had 
"  secreted  under  our  bed,  and,  mounting  on  the  shoulder  of  my 
"  comrade,  raised  myself  upon  the  knife  worked  into  the  crevice  of 
"  the  stone,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  embrasure.  Here  I 
**  made  fast  the  rope,  that   my  friend  might  follow  me.     I  then 


THE    EXILES    OV    FLORIDA.  169 

"  passed  through  the  hole  a  sufficient  length  of  it  to  reach  the 
*'  ground  upon  the  outside  (about  fifty  feet),  in  the  ditch  :  I  had 
•'  calculated  the  distance  when  going  for  roots.  With  much  diffi- 
**  culty  I  succeeded  in  getting  my  head  through,  for  the  sharp 
*'  stones  took  the  skin  off  my  breast  and  back.  Putting  my  head 
"  through  first,  I  was  obliged  to  go  down  head  foremost  until  my 
"  feet  were  through,  fearing  every  moment  the  rope  would  break. 
"  At  last,  safely  on  the  ground,  I  awaited  with  anxiety  the  arrival 
**  of  my  comrade.  I  had  passed  another  rope  through  the  hole, 
•'  which,  in  the  event  of  discovery,  Talmeco- Hadjo  was  to  pull,  as 
"  a  signal  to  me  upon  the  outside  that  he  was  discovered,  and  could 
"  not  come.  As  soon  as  I  struck  the  ground,  I  took  hold  of  the 
"  signal  for  intelligence  from  my  friend.  The  night  was  very  dark. 
"  Two  men  passed  near  me,  talking  earnestly,  and  I  could  see  them 
"  distinctly.  Soon  I  heard  the  struggle  of  my  companion,  far 
"  above  roe  ;  he  had  succeeded  in  getting  his  head  through,  but  his 
"  body  would  come  no  farther.  In  the  lowest  tone  of  voice,  I 
"  urged  him  to  throw  out  his  breath  and  then  try;  soon  after,  he 
"  came  tumbling  down  the  whole  distance.  For  a  few  moments  I 
"  thought  him  dead.  I  dragged  him  to  some  water  close  by,  which 
'*  restored  him  ;  but  his  leg  was  so  lame  he  was  unable  to  walk.  I 
"  took  him  upon  my  shoulder  to  a  scrub,  near  town.  Daylight 
•■'was  just  breaking:  it  was  evident  we  must  move  rapidly.  I 
"  caught  a  mule  in  the  adjoining  field,  and,  making  a  bridle  of  my 
"  sash,  mounted  my  companion.  The  mule  we  used  one  day;  but 
"  fearing  the  whites  would  track  us,  we  felt  more  secure  on  foot  in 
•*  the  hommock,  though  moving  very  slowly.  Thus  we  continued 
**  our  journey  for  five  days,  subsisting  on  berries,  when  I  joined  my 
"  band,  then  assembled  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Tomoka  River, 
"  near  the  Atlantic  coast.  I  gave  my  warriors  the  history  of  my 
*'  capture  and  escape,  and  assured  them  that  they  should  be  satis- 
"  fied  njy  capture  was  no  trick  of  my  own,  and  that  I  would  not 
**  deceive  them." 


170  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

While  Wild  Cat  and  his  friends  were  imprisoned  at  San  Augus- 
tine, the  Cherokee  Delegation  had  been  actively  engaged  in  exer- 
tions to  induce  other  chiefs  and  warriors  to  come  in,  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  what  negotiations  could  be  effected  with  General 
Jessup  in  favor  of  peace.  Their  objects  were  of  the  most  humane 
character.  Anxious  to  stop  the  further  shedding  of  human  blood, 
they  had  come  a  thousand  miles  upon  this  errand  of  mercy. 

After  great  effort,  Micanopy,  the  most  important  chief  in  the 
Nation,  Choud,  Toskogee,  and  Nocose  Yoholo,  agreed  to  accom- 
pany a  portion  of  the  Cherokee  Delegation  to  General  Jessup's 
camp,  for  the  purpose  of  negotiation,  or  rather  to  ascertain  whether 
further  negotiation  were  practicable.  They  were  accompanied  by 
about  seventy-five  Indians  and  forty  Exiles.  They  approached  the 
American  camp  under  a  flag  of  truce,  that  emblem  of  peace,  which 
is  recognized  as  such  by  all  civilized  nations,  and  treated  with 
respect. 

They  reached  General  Jessup's  camp  on  the  third  of  December, 
in  company  with  a  part  of  the  Cherokee  Delegation,  and  confided 
themselves  to  the  power  of  the  commanding  ofiiccr,  trusting  to  the 
honor  of  our  nation.  They  were  received  with  apparent  respect 
and  good  faith,  and  remained  in  camp  under  the  expectation  of 
further  negotiation;  of  which  there  was  much  said,  and  frequent 
conversations  held. 

After  a  few  days  spent  in  this  way,  the  Seminole  chiefs  and 
warriors  were  unsuspectingly  seized,  disarn>ed,  made  prisoners, 
hurried  on  board  a  steamboat,  and  sent  to  San  Augustine  as  pris- 
oners of  war. 

As  the  Cherokees  saw  this  violation  of  the  flag,  they  were  struck 
"with  astonishment,  and  began  to  remonstrate  against  an  act  which,  to 
them,  appeared  an  outrage  upon  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare,  and 
which  involved  them  in  its  guilt.  Finding  remonstrance  of  no  avail, 
they  requested  permission  of  General  Jessup  to  converse  with  the 
Seminoles,  in  order  to  assure  them  that  they,  the  Cherokees,  had 
acted  in  good  faith,  and  were  in  no  degree  cognizant  of  the  fraud 


THE    EXILES  OP    FLORIDA.  171 

practiced  upon  the  Seminoles,  or  implicated  in  the  discreditable 
violation  of  the  flag  of  truce.  This  privilege,  however,  was  denied 
them. 

Feeling  indignant,  and  conscious  that  the  Seminoles  would  charge 
them  wiih  complicity,  in  this  violation  of  faith,  they  next  demanded 
that  tlieir  principal  chief  should  have  an  opportunity,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  such  officer  or  officers  as  General  Jessup  may  appoint,  to 
see  the  Seminoles,  and  explain  to  them  that  the  Cherokees  had  in  no 
respect  participated  in  the  perfidy  practiced  upon  them.  To  enforce 
this  request,  they  stated  to  General  Jessup  that,  if  the  Seminoles 
were  sent  West,  they  would  thereby  become  neighbors  to  the 
Cherokees,  and,  if  they  believed  the  Cherokee  Delegation  to  have 
participated  in  this  transaction,  they  would  never  forget  it,  but 
would  thereafter  be  hostile  to  them. 

General  Jessup  at  length  consented  to  permit  the  chief  of  the 
Cherokees  to  explain  these  facts  to  the  Seminoles,  in  the  presence 
of  himself  and  officers  ;  but  would  not  suffer  any  other  member  of 
the  delegation  to  attend  him.^ 

The  Seminoles  were  sent  to  San  Augustine  ;  and  that  portion  of 
the  Cherokees  who  had  accompanied  them  to  General  Jessup's 
camp,  at  once  refused  all  further  efforts  to  restore  peace,  and  re- 
turned to  their  homes ;  leaving,  however,  some  four  or  five  of  their 
brethren  in  the  Seminole  country,  who,  ignorant  of  the  occurrences 
just  related,  continued  to  urge  other  Seminoles  to  make  peace  upoa 
such  terms  as  they  believed  just — assuring  them  that  the  Ameri- 
cans demanded  nothing  more. 

(1)  This  statement  is  taken  entirely  from  the  Letters  of  John  Ros",  chief  of  the  Chero- 
kees, to  the  Secretary  of  War.  In  these  letters,  he  relates  the  whole  transaction  with  great 
force  and  apparent  candor,  and,  in  the  name  of  the  Cherokee  Nation,  boldly  arraigns  the 
War  Department  for  this  treachery,  practiced  by  a  Christian  nation  towards  a  people  called 
hoiithens.  These  letters  may  be  found  at  length  in  Ex.  Doc.  327,  2d  Sess.  XXVth  Cong., 
vol.  8. 


CHAPTER    XIII 


VIGOROUS  PROSECUTION  OF  THE  WAR. 

General  Za«hary  Taylor  —  His  character  and  past  service  —  His  expedition  —  Battle  of 
Okechobee  —  Hia  loss  —  Returns  to  Withlacoochee  —  Repudiates  the  work  of  catching 
Slaves  —  Exiles  delivered  over  to  bond  ige  —  Regular  Troops  despise  such  Employment 
—  Indian  prisoners  indignant  at  the  outrages  perpetrated  against  the  Exiles  —  Separated 
from  Exiles  — Are  sent  to  Charleston—  Kxiles  to  Tompa  Bay —  Further  efiforts  to  re-en- 
elave  Exiles  —  General  Jessup  moves  South  —  Skirmish  of  Loca  Hatchee  —  Erects  Fort 
Jupiter  —  Is  persuaded  to  propose  peace  on  ba.<is  of  permitting  Indians  and  Exiles  tore- 
main  in  Florida — i?ends  one  of  the  Exiles  to  the  enemy  with  these  proposit  ous  —  IIo 
returns  with  Hallec  Hajo  —  Parties  agree  to  hold  Council  and  endeavor  to  form  Treaty  on 
that  basis  —  Indians  and  Exiles  meet  for  that  purpose  —  Letter  to  Secretary  of  War  — 
His  answer  —  Indians  and  Exiles  treacherously  seized — Their  numbers  —  Alligator  and 
others  surrender  —  Exiles  sent  to  Fort  Pike  —  Indians  sent  to  Charleston. 

General  Zachary  Taylor  was  in  command  of  an  efficient  force 
1QQ7  T  ^^  ^^^  western  part  of  Florida,  holding  his  head-quartern  at 
Tampa  Bay.  He  had  been  thirty  years  in  service ;  had 
distinguished  himself  in  battle,  and  was  regarded  as  an  officer  of 
great  merit.  Looking  to  the  honor  of  our  flag  and  the  prestige  of 
the  service,  he  appears  to  have  borne  himself  entirely  above  all 
eflforts  to  prostitute  the  powers  of  the  nation  to  the  reenslavement 
of  the  Exiles.  He  was  particularly  opposed  to  the  plan  of  General 
Jessup,  directing  that  all  negroes  captured  should  be  the  slaves  of 
the  captors.^ 

It  now  became  evident  that  there  was  hard  fighting  to  be  done. 
General  Taylor  was  at  all  times  ready  for  such  service.     It  is  one 

(1)  Vide  letter  of  General  Taylor  to  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affaurs,  Ex.  Doc.  225,  8d 

Bess.  XXVth  Congress. 

(172) 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  173 

of  the  imperfections  of  human  government,  that  the  men  who  con- 
ceive and  direct  the  perpetration  of  great  national  crimes  are  usually 
exempt  from  the  immediate  dangers  which  beset  those  who  act 
merely  as  their  instruments  in  the  consummation  of  transcendent 
wrongs.  Had  General  Jackson  and  General  Cass  been  assured 
they  would  have  been  the  first  individuals  to  meet  death  in  their 
efforts  to  enslave  the  Exiles,  it  is  doubtful  whether  either  of  them 
would  have  been  willing  to  adopt  a  policy  which  should  thus  con- 
sign them  to  preu)ature  graves.  Or  had  Mr.  Van  Buren,  or  his 
Cabinet,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  writing,  been  conscious 
that,  in  carrying  on  this  war  for  slavery,  they  would  fall  victims  to 
their  own  policy,  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  either  of  them 
would  have  laid  down  his  life  for  the  safety  of  that  institution  ;  yet 
they  were  evidently  willing  to  sacrifice  our  military  ofiicers  and 
soldiers  to  maintain  the  degradation  of  the  African  race. 

General  Jessup  had  written  General  Taylor,  that  all  hope  of  ter- 
minating the  war  through  the  agency  of  the  Cherokees,  was  at  an 
end ;  that  Sam  Jones  and  the  Mickasukies  had  determined  to 
fight  to  the  last.  He,  therefore,  directed  General  Taylor  to  pro- 
ceed, with  the  least  possible  delay,  against  any  portion  of  the  ene- 
my he  might  hear  of  within  striking  distance.  General  Taylor  at 
once  concentrated  such  force  as  he  deemed  necessary  for  the  con- 
templated expedition.  His  little  army  was  composed  of  regulars 
and  volunteers,  including  nearly  one  hundred  Delaware  and  Shaw- 
nee Indians,  who  had  been  induced  to  join  the  army  under  the 
expectation  of  obtaining  plunder  by  the  capture  of  slaves.  His 
whole  force  amounted  to  nearly  eleven  hundred  men.  Conscious 
that  he  was  expected  to  encounter  the  full  force  of  the  enemy,  if  he 
could  succeed  in  bringing  them  to  action,  he  left  his  artillery; 
divested  his  troops  of  all  heavy  baggage,  and  prepared,  as  far  as 
possible,  for  a  rapid  movement.  With  him  were  some  of  the  most 
valued  officers  in  the  service  of  Government ;  men  on  whom  he  could 
rely  with  confidence,  and  who  were  worthy  to  command  veteran 
troops.     With  this  force,  he  left  his  encampment  on  the  morning 


174  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

of  the  nineteenth  of  December,  and  directed  his  course  southeast- 
wardly,  in  the  direction  where,  it  was  said,  Sara  Jones  and  his 
forces  were  encamped.  As  he  advanced  into  the  interior,  he  discov- 
ered signs  of  Indians;  and,  through  the  efforts  of  Captain  Parks, 
a  half-breed  chief,  who  commanded  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees, 
he  induced  Jumper,  and  a  few  families  of  the  Seminoles  and  some 
few  Exiles,  to  come  in  and  emigrate  under  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion of  March  previous.  On  the  twenty-second  of  December,  being 
the  third  day  of  their  march,  they  found  conclusive  evidence  that 
they  were  in  the  vicinity  of  the  enemies'  principal  force,  but  found 
it  difficult  to  bring  them  to  action.  'That  night  every  precaution 
was  taken  against  surprise.  The  necessary  patrols  were  kept  out, 
sentinels  doubled,  and  the  troops  slept  upon  their  arms.  They 
confidently  expected  to  engage  the  enemy  the  next  day. 

But  the  allies  were  cautious ;  they  passed  from  swamps,  through 
horn  mocks,  and  over  prairies,  constantly  keeping  too  far  in  advance 
of  our  army  to  incur  any  danger.  In  this  manner  the  whole  of 
that  day  was  occupied. 

At  night  the  troops  bivouacked  as  on  the  previous  night.  They 
were  in  the  deepest  recesses  of  the  Indian  Country,  surrounded  by 
swamps,  everglades  and  hommocks  :  through  these  they  had  groped 
their  way  for  a  hundred  miles.  Up  to  this  time,  the  mounted 
volunteers  had  managed  to  keep  their  horses  with  them,  knowing 
they  might  be  useful  in  battle.  But  the  enemy  indicated  an  un- 
willingness to  encounter  our  troops  with  the  advantages  which  the 
mounted  men  would  possess  over  them. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fourth,  the  troops  were  again 
put  in  motion  :  the  enemy  keeping  sufficiently  in  advance  to  be  be- 
yond the  reach  of  musket  or  rifle  balls.  General  Taylor  and  his 
followers  were  in  close  pursuit ;  and  as  the  allies  left  a  swamp,  or 
hommock,  or  prairie,  Taylor  and  his  men  entered  it,  hoping  to  bring 
on  a  general  action. 

At  about  ten  o'clock,  the  enemy  were  traced  to  a  swamp  of  some 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  in  width,  thickly  covered  with  saw-grass,  not 


THE    EXILES   OP    FLORIDA.  175 

less  than  four  feet  in  height.  Through  it  flowed  a  turbid  stream, 
whose  current  was  scarcely  perceptible,  while  it  seemed  to  stretch 
away  to  the  left  in  an  endless  savanna,  and  to  the  right  it  appeared 
to  deepen  into  an  impassable  morass.  After  the  proper  reconnois- 
sance,  it  was  found  that  it  could  not  be  passed  by  horses;  and  on 
the  farther  side  a.  thick  hommock  reached  down  to  the  very  edge  of 
the  swamp. 

It  was  now  plain  that  the  enemy  intended  to  make  a  stand  at 
this  point,  and  give  battle.  Perhaps  the  whole  territory  did  not 
furnish  a  more  advantageous  position  than  that  now  occupied  by  the 
allied  forces.  Greneral  Taylor  saw  at  a  glance  the  difficulties  which 
lay  before  him.  He  well  understood  the  superiority  of  the  enemy's 
position,  but  determined  to  maintain  the  honor  of  the  service.  He 
did  not  hesitate  in  entering  upon  the  conflict.  His  arrangements 
were  soon  made.  The  volunteers  were  directed  to  dismount,  and 
act  on  foot  Knowing  well  that  the  battle  was  to  be  fought  here 
if  anywhere,  he  directed  his  troops  to  divest  themselves  of  all  bag- 
gage, which  together  with  the  horses,  was  left  under  the  charge  of 
a  small  guard.  His  troeps  entered  the  swamp  in  two  lines.  The 
first  was  composed  of  the  volunteers,  spies,  and  friendly  Indians, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Gentry.  They  were  ordered  to  en- 
gage the  enemy,  and  maintain  their  ground  until  reinforced  ;  or,  if 
compelled  to  fall  back,  they  were  directed  to  form  immediately  in 
rear  of  the  second  line,  and  await  orders. 

They  entered  the  swamp  in  this  manner  at  about  twelve  o'clock. 
The  sun  was  shining  pleasantly,  and  a  quiet  stillness  appeared  to 
pervade  the  scene  around  them.  They  passed  the  stream  in  safety, 
and  the  front  line  was  approaching  the  thick  hommock  in  front. 
There,  too.  all  was  silent ;  not  an  enemy  to  be  seen  ;  no  voice  was 
heard,  nor  could  they  discover  any  evidence  of  animal  life  within 
the  dense  forest  before  them. 

There,  however,  lay  Wild  Cat  and  his  band,  and  the  prophet  and 
other  mighty  chiefs  of  the  nation  with  their  followers.  Wild  Cat 
had  been  stimulated  to  desperation  by  what  he  regarded  the  perfidy 


176  THE   EXILES  OF    FLOKIDA. 

of  General  Jessup,  and  his  imprisonment  at  San  Augustine,  from 
which  he  had  just  escaped.  Most  of  the  Exiles,  who  remained 
among  the  Seminoles,  and  were  capable  of  bearing  arras,  were  col- 
lected here  under  their  respective  leaders.  They  had  retreated  to 
this  point  for  the  purpose  of  separating  our  troops  from  their  horses, 
and  then  engaging  them  at  such  superior  advantage  as  would  bo 
most  likely  to  insure  victory.  Their  spies  had  climbed  into  the 
very  tops  of  the  trees,  whence  they  had  witnessed  every  movement 
of  our  troops  in  the  swamp,  and  given  constant  information  to  their 
comrades  who  were  on  the  ground,  and  who,  acting  under  the 
information  thus  received,  were  enabled  to  place  themselves  directly 
in  front  of  those  who  were  pursuing  them.  Every  warrior  was 
protected  by  a  tree,  and  the  thick  foliage  of  the  hommock  shielded 
every  movement  from  the  scrutiny  of  our  spies  and  officers. 

Soon  as  the  first  line,  commanded  by  Colonel  Gentry,  came 
within  point-blank  shot  of  the  hommock,  the  allies  opened  a  heavy 
fire  upon  them.  The  saw-grass  was  so  high  as  partially  to  protect 
the  bodies  of  our  men  from  view ;  but  the  fire  was  very  fatal- 
Colonel  Gentry,  the  gallant  commander  of  the  volunteers,  fell  at 
the  first  fire;  his  son,  an  interesting  youth,  acting  as  sergeant-major, 
was  wounded  almost  at  the  same  moment.  Captain  Childs,  and 
Lieutenants  Rogers  and  Flanagan,  of  the  same  regiment,  and  Act- 
ing Major  Sconce,  and  Lieutenants  Hare  and  Gordon  of  the  spies, 
and  twenty-four  men,  fell  wounded  at  the  very  commencement  of 
the  action. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  militia  would  stand  such  a  fire 
They  broke,  fell  back,  and  instead  of  halting  in  the  rear  of  the 
regulars  as  directed,  they  continued  their  flight  across  the  swamp, 
to  the  place  where  they  left  their  horses ;  nor  were  the  officers  of 
General  Taylor's  staff  able  to  induce  them  again  to  join  their  com- 
rades, who  soon  became  engaged  in  a  most  deadly  conflict. 

But  the  regulars  moved  steadily  to  the  charge,  under  Colonel 
Thompson,  a  most  gallant  and  estimable  officer.  General  Taylor 
gays  :  *'  The  weight  of  the  enemy's  fire  seemed  to  be  concentrated 


Coacoocbee,  (Wild  Cat.) 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  ITT 

"  upon  five  companies  of  the  6th  Infantry,  which  not  only  stood 
"  firm,  but  continued  to  advance  until  their  gallant  commander, 
"  Lieut.  Colonel  Thompson,  and  his  adjutant.  Lieutenant  Center, 
•'were  killed;  and  every  officer,  with  one  exception,  as  well  as 
"  most  of  the  non-commissioned  officers,  including  the  sergeant- 
"  major,  and  four  of  the  five  orderly  sergeants,  were  killed  or 
"  wounded.  When  that  portion  of  the  regiment  retired  a  short 
"  distance  and  re-formed,  it  was  found  that  one  of  these  companies 
"  had  but  four  men  untouched.^ ^ 

Amid  these  difficulties,  Lieut.  Colonel  Foster  of  the  4th  Infantry, 
with  six  companies,  numbering  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
gained  the  hommock  in  good  order,  and,  after  maintaining  his 
ground  a  short  time,  charged  upon  the  allies  and  drove  them  from 
the  field,  with  the  loss  of  nine  Indians  and  one  of  the  Exiles  killed, 
and  eleven  wounded. 

The  battle  commenced  at  half-past  twelve  M.,  and  continued 
nearly  three  hours,  and  proved  the  most  desperate,  and  to  our 
troops  the  most  fatal  conflict  which  occurred  during  the  war.  It 
was  past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  the  allies  gave  up  the 
field,  for  which  they  had  contended  against  a  force  more  than 
double  their  own  numbers. 

General  Taylor  and  his  surviving  officers  were  now  left  to  ascer- 
tain their  loss,  and  contemplate  the  expense  of  subduing  even  a 
savage  people,  fighting  for  their  homes,  their  firesides,  their  liberties. 
And  we  are  led  to  think  if  those  Northern  statesmen  who,  for  many 
years  subsequent  to  that  date,  were  accustomed  to  inquire.  What 
has  the  nation  to  do  with  slavery  ?  had  been  present  and  propound- 
ed that  question  to  General  Taylor  or  his  officers,  they  would  have 
been  silently  pointed  to  twenty-six  dead  bodies  of  their  deceased 
comrades,  then  lifeless  upon  the  ground,  and  to  one  hundred  and 
twelve  wounded  officers  and  soldiers,  who  were  prostrated  in  that 
swamp  and  hommock,  suffering  all  the  pangs  which  mortals  are 
capable  of  enduring ;  but  the  language  of  their  gallant  commander 
better  expresses  his  feelings  than  any  which  we  can  command. 
12 


178 


THE    EXILES   OP    FLORIDA. 


In  his  official  report,  General  Taylor  says ;  "  We  suffered  much, 
"  having  twenty-six  killed  and  one  hundred  and  twelve  wounded, 
*'  among  whom  are  some  of  our  most  valuable  officers.  *  *  Soon 
**  as  the  enemy  were  completely  broken,  I  turned  my  attention  to 
**  taking  care  of  the  wounded,  to  facilitate  their  removal  to  my 
*'  baggage,  where  I  had  ordered  an  encampment  to  be  formed.  *  * 
**  And  here  I  trust  I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  experienced 
**  one  of  the  most  trying  scenes  of  my  life  ;  and  he  who  could  have 
**  looked  on  it  with  indifference,  his  nerves  must  have  been  very 
**  differently  organized  from  my  own.  Besides  the  killed,  among 
"  whom  were  some  of  my  personal  friends,  there  lay  one  hundred 
*•  and  twelve  officers  and  soldiers,  who  had  accompanied  me  one 
*'  hundred  and  forty-five  miles,  through  an  unexplored  wilderness, 
"  without  guides;  who  had  so  gallantly  beaten  the  enemy,  under 
"my  orders,  in  his  strongest  positions;  and  who  had  to  be  con- 
'*  veyed  back,  through  swamps  and  hommocks,  from  whence  we  set 
**  out,  without  any  apparent  means  of  doing  so" 

The  next  day  was  occupied  in  burying  the  dead,  making  litters 
for  the  transportation  of  the  wounded,  and  preparing  for  their  return 
to  Withlacoochee.  One  hundred  and  thirty-eight  men  had  fallen 
in  this  single  conflict,  victims  to  the  policy  of  our  Government,  in 
attempting  to  restore  to  a  state  of  slavery  men  who  abhorred  and 
had  fled  from  it.  The  allies  had  also  suffered  severely.  General 
Taylor  reported  that  ten  of  their  dead  and  wounded  were  left  on 
the  field. 1  But  no  prisoners  were  taken,  no  slaves  were  captured; 
and  those  Indians  who  had  come  from  Arkansas  to  Florida,  for  the 
purpose  of  sharing  in  slave-catching  forays,  found  it  a  far  more 
dangerous  employment,  and  one  of  more  difficulty,  than  they  had 
expected. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twenty-sixth,  General  Taylor,  with  his 
sick  and  wounded,  left  his  encampment,  and,  after  encountering 

(I)  Mr.  Sprague  says  there  were  three  hundred  Indian  and  negro  warriors  engaged  in 
this  battle,  and  that  their  loss  was  ten  Indians  and  one  negro  killed,  and  eleven  wounded; 
showing  a  great  disparity  between  their  loss  and  General  Taylor's. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  179 

great  diflSculties,  reached  Withlacoochec  on  the  thirty-first  of  De- 
cember ;  having  been  absent  twelve  days.  He  made  a  brief  official 
report  of  this  expedition,  and  of  the  severe  battle  he  had  fought. 
This  report  was  quietly  filed  away  in  the  War  Department,  and 
but  few,  even  of  our  public  men,  appeared  to  be  fully  conscious 
that  he  had  performed  meritorious  service  in  the  Florida  war.^ 

But  while  General  Taylor  was  thus  quietly  engaged  in  the 
most  hazardous  service.  General  Jessup  was  active  in  securing 
negroes,  and  employing  the  military  power  of  the  nation,  so  far 
as  able,  to  seize  and  return  fugitives  to  their  owners.  It  would 
exceed  the  limits  of  our  present  work,  were  we  to  notice  the 
efforts  of  various  individuals  claiming  to  have  lost  slaves.  The 
Indian  Bureau  at  Washington  was  engaged  in  this  service,  and 
applications  were  constantly  made  for  slaves  to  the  commanding 
officer.  These  applications  were  usually  referred  to  some  quarter- 
master, or  pay-master,  for  decision ;  and  if  such  inferior  officer  be- 
longed to  the  militia,  the  person  claimed  was  usually  delivered  over 
to  bondage,  whether  the  claimant  had  ever  seen  him  previously 
or  not.  It  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  that  our  National  Adminis- 
tration, guided  by  a  Northern  President  (Mr.  Van  Buren),  should 
have  permitted  a  pay-master  or  quarter-master  of  militia,  to  sit  in 
grave  examination  of  the  right  of  their  fellow-men  to  liberty ;  to  act 
as  judge,  jury  and  counselor,  in  cases  involving  the  rights  with 
which  the  God  of  Nature  had  endowed  them. 

But  to  the  honor  of  our  army,  it  was  said  that  both  officers  and 

(1)  In  1848,  General  Taylor  was  the  Whig  candidate  for  President  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  so  little  was  the  history  of  thLs  war  known  to  our  statesmen  or  politicians,  that  it  is 
believed  no  newspaper,  or  stump  orator,  or  advocate  of  his  election,  ever  related  or  referred 
to  this  most  gallant  act  of  his  life.  He  had  himself,  during  the  war,  exhibited  no  particu- 
lar sympathy  in  the  work  of  catching  and  enslaving  negroes ;  on  the  contrary,  ho  had 
expressed  his  detestation  of  that  policy.  Of  course  the  slave  power,  not  willing  to  make 
open  war  upon  him,  had  permitted  his  name  to  rest  without  connecting  it  with  the  per- 
formance of  any  brilliant  or  humane  acts.  The  casuist  may  say,  that  he  ought  not  to 
have  served  in  such  a  war,  and  that  no  gallantry  displayed  in  such  a  cause  ought  to  reflect 
credit  upon  any  man  But  Gleneral  Taylor,  like  other  men,  should  bo  judged  by  the  times, 
the  customs,  the  morality  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 


180  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

men  of  the  regular  service,  generally  held  the  work  of  catching 
slaves  in  supreme  contempt.  More  than  three  hundred  heavy 
documentary  pages  were  communicated  to  Congress  on  this  subject, 
nearly  all  of  which  are  filled  with  extracts  of  letters,  reports,  orders, 
opinions  and  directions  concerning  slaves,  connected  with  this 
Florida  war.^ 

Great  difficulty  arose  among  the  Indians  in  consequence  of  the 
reenslavement  of  their  friends,  the  Exiles.  They  felt  the  outrage 
with  as  much  apparent  keenness  as  though  it  had  been  perpetrated 
upon  themselves.  To  prevent  these  difficulties.  General  Jessup 
separated  the  Exiles  from  their  Indian  allies,  whenever  they  sur- 
rendered or  were  taken  prisoners. ^ 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  he  sent  Osceola  and  the  other  Indians 
seized  at  Fort  Peyton ;  and  Micanopy,  and  others  who  had  come  into 
his  own  camp  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating  a  treaty,  to  Charleston, 
South  Carolina ;  while  the  Exiles  were  sent,  some  to  Tampa  Bay 
and  other  places,  to  be  subjected  to  the  inspection  of  men  who 
professed  to  have  been  their  previous  owners. 

General  Jessup,  in  the  very  elaborate  defense  of  his  proceedings, 
dated  July,  1838,  justifies  this  policy  of  separating  the  Indians  and 
Exiles  by  saying,  that  he  learned  the  year  previous,  from  prisoners 
captured,  that  the  Indians  through  the  Seminole  negroes  had  en- 
tered into  arrangements  with  their  slaves  that  so  soon  as  hostilities 
should  commence,  the  latter  were  to  join  their  masters,  and  take 
Tip  arms  against  the  whites.  This  information,  representing  the  In- 
dians as  entering  into  negotiation  with  their  own  slaves  through  the 
"  Seminole  negroes  "(Exiles),  bears  the  character  of  fiction  ;  yet  it 
is  gravely  set  forth  in  an  official  report,  and  we  are  bound  to  treat 
it  respectfully. 3 

(1)  Vide  Ex.  Doc,  2d  Sess.  XXVth  Congresa,  No.  225. 

(2)  Vide  General  Jessup's  letter  to  Oeneral  Arbuckle,  8  Vol.  Ex.  Doc,  2d  Sess.  XXVth 
Congress. 

(8)  Vide  Oeneral  Jessup's  letter  to  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  Ex.  Doc.  225,  above 
referred  to. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  181 

Under  this  arrangement  —  separating  the  Indians  and  Exiles  — 
all  the  relations  of  domestic  life  were  disregarded.  The  Indian 
husband  was  separated  from  the  wife  he  had  selected  among  the 
daughters  of  the  Exiles ;  and  the  Indian  wife  was  separated  from 
her  more  sable  husband.  The  darker  colored  prisoners  were  hur- 
ried to  Tampa  Bay,  and  the  red  men  and  women  were  sent  to 
Charleston  for  safe  keeping. 

Up  to  the  commencement  of  the  year  1838,  General  Jessup  ap- 
pears  to  have  been  mostly  employed  in  efforts  to  obtain  peace  by 
negotiation  and  in  directing  the  movements  of  various  detachments 
of  the  army,  who  did  not  require  his  personal  attendance,  and 
making  arrangements  for  the  delivery  of  negroes  to  their  supposed 
former  owners ;  but  had  found  very  little  time  to  mingle  in  the 
dangers  of  the  field.  Brigadier  General  Taylor  had  performed  a 
most  hazardous  service  ;  and  it  appeared  proper  that  the  Command- 
ing General  should  also  strike  a  blow  that  would  distinguish  his 
administration  of  the  military  department  of  the  territory. 

Early  in  January,  he  moved  south,  with  about  five  hun- 
dred mounted  men,  well  provided.  On  the  twenty-fourth, 
at  about  twelve  o'clock,  he  encountered  the  '*  allies,"  near  the 
**  Locka-Hatchee,"  and  a  short  skirmish  followed,  in  which  the 
General  was  himself  wounded  somewhat  severely  in  the  arm.  He 
lost  seven  men  killed  and  thirty  wounded.  The  enemy  yielded  the 
field  to  our  troops,  but  left  neither  dead  nor  wounded  upon  the 
scene  of  conflict,  nor  is  it  known  whether  they  sustained  any  loss 
whatever.  General  Jessup  expresses  the  belief  that  there  were  not 
more  than  a  hundred  wan-iors  engaged  on  the  part  of  the  enemy. 
On  the  twenty-fifth,  he  erected  a  stockade  called  "  Fort  Jupiter." 
Here  he  lay  until  the  fifth  of  February,  when  he  moved  forward 
some  twelve  miles,  where,  it  is  said,  some  of  his  officers — General 
Easton  and  others  —  proposed  that  General  Jessup  should  make 
terms  with  the  Indians  and  their  allies,  and  permit  them  to  remain 
in  the  country,  confining  them  to  the  southern  portion  of  the  Terri- 
tory.    He,  however,  moved  forward  another  day's  march,  when, 


182  THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA. 

being  called  on  by  Colonel  Twiggs,  and  learning  that  it  was  the 
general  desire  of  the  officers,  he  says  he  determined  to  send  a  mes- 
senger to  the  Indians,  offering  them  peace. 

The  first  messenger  dispatched  on  this  service  was  one  of  the 
Exiles,  or,  as  General  Jessup  called  him,  a  "  Seminole  negro. '^ 
This  man  soon  returned  with  several  Indians,  among  whom  was  a 
sub-chief  named  "  Hallec  Hajo,"  who  was  willing  to  hold  a  con- 
ference, and  expressed  a  desire  to  remain  in  the  country ;  but  said, 
if  compelled,  they  must  go  West. 

General  Jessup  insisted  that  "  Toshkogee,"  the  principal  chief 
in  that  neighborhood,  should  attend,  and  hold  a  Council  the  next 
day  ;  and  that  the  Indians  should  give  up  their  arms.  Hallec  Hajo 
at  once  refused  to  comply  with  such  condition.  He  would  meet  in 
Council,  but  would  never  surrender  his  arms. 

On  the  morning  of  the  eighth  of  February,  Toshkogee  and  Hal- 
lec Hajo  met  General  Taylor  agreeably  to  appointment.  An  inter- 
change of  opinions  and  views  took  place,  and  the  General  agreed  to 
recommend  the  conclusion  of  a  peace  upon  the  basis  of  allowing 
the  allies  to  remain  in  the  country,  and  occupy  a  suitable  portion 
of  the  southern  part  of  the  Territory.  It  was  also  agreed  that  a 
certain  territory,  near  the  place  of  negotiation,  should  be  occupied 
by  the  Indians  and  their  families,  where  they  should  be  safe,  and 
might  remain  until  the  views  of  the  Executive  should  be  ascer- 
tained.^ 

In  pursuance  of  this  arrangement  of  treating  upon  the  basis  of 
permitting  the  allies  to  remain  in  the  country,  many  of  the  Semi- 
noles  and  Exiles  collected  with  the  expectation  that  the  agreement 
was  to  be  carried  out  in  good  faith. 

On  the  next  day.  General  Jessup  addressed  a  long  communica- 
tion to  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  which  he  gives  his  views  upon  the 
policy  of  immediate  emigration  somewhat  at  length,  and  advises  its 
abandonment  in  the  following  language  ; 

(1)  This  is  the  view  which  General  Jessup  gives  of  the  transaction,  Ex.  Doc,  8th  VoL, 
2d  Seas.  XXVth  Congress. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  183 

**  In  regard  to  the  Seminoles,  we  have  committed  the  error  of 
**  attempting  to  remove  them  when  their  lands  were  not  required 
**  for  agricultural  purposes  ;  when  they  were  not  in  the  way  of  the 
'*  white  inhabitants,  and  when  the  greater  portion  of  their  country 
**  was  an  unexplored  wilderness,  of  the  interior  of  which  we  were  as 
**  ignorant  as  of  the  interior  of  China.  We  exhibit  in  our  present 
"  contest  the  first  instance,  perhaps,  since  the  commencement  of 
"  authentic  history,  of  a  nation  employing  an  army  to  explore  a 
"  country,  (for  we  can  do  little  more  than  explore  it,)  or  attempt- 
*'  ing  to  remove  a  band  of  savages  from  one  unexplored  wilderness 
**  to  another. 

"As  a  soldier,  it  is  my  duty,  I  am  aware,  not  to  comment  upon 
*'  the  policy  of  the  Government,  but  to  carry  it  out  in  accordance 
*'  with  my  instructions.  I  have  endeavored  faithfully  to  do  so  ;  but 
"  the  prospect  of  terminating  the  war  in  any  reasonable  time  is  any 
•'  thing  but  flattering.  My  decided  opinion  is,  that,  unless  imme- 
*'  diate  emigration  be  abandoned,  the  war  will  continue  for  years  to 
*'  come,  and  at  constantly  accumulating  expense.  Is  it  not,  then, 
*'  well  worthy  the  serious  consideration  of  an  enlightened  Govern- 
*'  ment  whether,  even  if  the  wilderness  we  are  traversing  could  be 
'*  inhabited  by  the  white  man,  (which  is  not  the  fact,)  the  object 
"we  are  contending  for  would  be  worth  the  cost?  I  do  not  cer- 
*'  tainly  think  it  would  ;  indeed,  I  do  not  consider  the  country 
"  south  of  Chickasa-Hatchee  worth  the  medicines  we  shall  expend 
**  in  driving  the  Indians  from  it." 

To  this  communication  the  Secretary  of  War  replied  :  "  In  the 
*•  present  stage  of  our  relations  with  the  Indians  residing  within 
"  the  States  and  Territories  east  of  the  Mississippi,  including  the 
"  Seminoles,  it  is  useless  to  recur  to  the  principles  and  motives 
"  which  induced  the  Government  to  determine  their  removal  to  the 
"  West.  The  acts  of  the  Executive,  and  the  laws  of  Congress, 
"  evince  a  determination  to  carry  out  the  measure,  and  it  is  to  be 
•'  regarded  as  the  settled  policy  of  the  country.  In  pursuance  of 
**  this  policy,  the   treaty  of  Payne's  Landing  was  made  with  the 


184 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


"  Seminoles ;  and  the  character  of  the  officer  employed  on  the  part 
**  of  the  Government  is  a  guarantee  of  the  perfectly  fair  manner  in 
*'  which  that  negotiation  was  conducted  and  concluded.  Whether 
**  the  Government  ought  not  to  have  waited  until  the  Seminoles 
**  were  pressed  upon  by  the  white  population,  and  their  lands  be- 
"  come  necessary  to  the  agricultural  wants  of  the  community,  is  not 
**  a  question  for  the  Executive  now  to  consider.  The  treaty  has 
**  been  ratified,  and  is  the  law  of  the  land ;  and  the  constitutional 
**  duty  of  the  President  requires  that  he  should  cause  it  to  be  exe- 
**  cuted.  I  cannot,  therefore,  authorize  any  arrangement  with  the 
**  Seminoles  by  which  they  will  be  permitted  to  remain,  or  assign 
'*  them  any  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Florida  as  their  future  resi- 
**  dence. 

**  The  Department  indulged  the  hope,  that,  with  the  extensive 
"  means  placed  at  your  disposal,  the  war  by  a  vigorous  effort  might 
**  be  brought  to  a  close  this  campaign.  If,  however,  you  are  of 
**  opinion  that,  from  the  nature  of  the  country  and  the  character 
*'  of  the  enemy,  such  a  result  is  impracticable,  and  that  it  is  advisa- 
•*  ble  to  make  a  temporary  arrangement  with  the  Seminoles,  by 
**  which  the  safety  of  the  settlements  and  posts  will  be  secured 
'*  throughout  the  summer,  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  so." 

General  Jessup  had  previously  represented  the  subjection  of  the 
Seminoles  as  an  object  easily  to  be  accomplished.  He  had  so 
represented  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Blair,  in  1836,  which  occasioned 
the  withdrawal  of  General  Scott,  and  his  own  appointment  to  the 
command  of  the  army  in  Florida.  He  had  himself  been  in  com- 
mand more  than  a  year,  and  the  War  Department  was  doubtless 
somewhat  astonished  at  his  recommendation  now  to  adopt  the  policy 
which  the  Indians  and  Exiles  had  from  the  first  been  ready  to  ac- 
cept. He  was  probably  somewhat  mortified  at  seeing  his  proposi- 
tion so  coldly  received,  and  the  whole  responsibility  of  carrying  it 
out  placed  upon  himself,  upon  condition  that  he  was  satisfied  no- 
thing better  could  be  accomplished.  He  had  done  all  in  his  power 
to  effect  the  objects  so  much  cherished  by  the  Administration,    But 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  185 

the  Secretary  of  War  still  urged  the  carrying  out  of  the  treaty  of 
Payne's  Landing,  not  according  to  its  letter  and  spirit,  but  accord- 
ing to  the  unnatural  and  unexpected  construction  which  General 
Jackson  placed  upon  it,  after  complaints  were  made  against  the 
Seminoles  by  the  people  of  Florida.  It  is  also  evident  that  no  in- 
tention of  executing  it  according  to  the  supplemental  treaty  entered 
into  by  the  Seminole  Delegates  while  at  the  West,  was  entertained 
by  the  Administration.  No  measures  had  been  taken  for  establish- 
ing the  boundaries  between  the  Seminoles  and  the  Creeks ;  nor  do 
we  hear  of  any  intention  to  fulfill  that  stipulation.  On  the  contrary, 
it  had  been  constantly  asserted  by  the  Secretary  of  VVar,  that  the 
Seminoles  and  Creeks  were  to  be  united  as  one  people. 

The  Commanding  General,  in  the  opinion  of  many  statesmen, 
had  compromited  the  honor  of  the  service,  and  violated  the  plighted 
faith  of  the  nation  by  treacherously  seizing  Indians  and  Exiles 
who  had  approached  the  army  under  the  white  flag,  which  had  so 
long  been  regarded  as  a  sacred  emblem  of  peace  by  all  civilized 
nations ;  yet,  notwithstanding  these  circumstances,  his  propositions 
were  in  spirit  rejected,  although  in  language  he  had  been  authorized 
to  negotiate  a  temporary  peace  upon  the  basis  he  h.ad  proposed. 

It  is  believed  that  the  substance  of  this  answer  had  become  to 
some  extent  known,  or  suspected  by  the  Indians,  for  General  Jes- 
sup  admits  he  received  the  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  War  on  the 
seventeenth ;  and  on  the  nineteenth,  he  directed  the  chiefs  to  meet 
him  in  Council  on  the  twentieth,  at  twelve  o'clock.  For  some 
cause,  the  Indians  and  their  allies  appear  to  have  been  indisposed 
to  do  this,  and  he  directed  Colonel  Twiggs  to  seize  them,  and  hold 
them  prisoners ;  and  he  reported  to  the  War  Department  that,  by 
this  movement,  "five  hundred  and  thirteen  Indians,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty -five  negroes,  were  secured."  ^ 

Of  this  transaction  we  can  only  speak  from  the  account  given  of 
it  by  General  Jessup.     From  his  report,  certain  important  facts  are 

(1)  Vide  Report  of  General  Jessup  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Ex.  Doc.,  3d  Sess.  XXVth 
Congress. 


186 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


clearly  understood.  For  instance,  he  announces  to  the  Indians 
and  Exiles  a  proposition  to  treat  with  them,  upon  the  basis  of  per- 
mitting them  to  remain  in  the  countri/.  That,  for  the  purpose  of 
entering  into  such  a  negotiation,  they  collected  near  Fort  Jupiter; 
and  that,  without  any  attempt  to  negotiate,  and  while  they  were  in 
his  camp,  they  were  unexpectedly  seized  against  their  will ;  and 
that  Passac  Micco,  and  fourteen  others,  escaped  capture.  Nor  does 
General  Jessup  pretend  that  one  of  those  six  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  persons  voluntarily  surrendered.  It  is  certain,  that  however 
honorable  the  intentions  of  General  Jessup  were,  the  Indians  and 
the  Exiles  were  deceived,  and,  as  they  believed,  treacherously  dealt 
with. 

The  official  register  of  colored  persons  seized  at  Fort  Jupiter, 
represents  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  as  properly  belonging  to  the 
Seminoles,  or  as  '*  Seminole  negroes,''^  the  term  usually  applied  to 
the  Exiles  by  General  Jessup  and  his  officers ;  and  fourteen  are 
represented  as  the  slaves  of  citizens  of  Florida.  These  people  were 
soon  hurried  off  to  Tampa  Bay,  where  they  were  confined  within 
the  pickets,  under  a  strong  guard.  Fort  Brooke  now  presented  to 
i\\Q  eye  of  a  stranger  all  the  external  appearances  of  a  first  class 
"slave  factory"  upon  the  African  coast.  The  Exiles  who  had 
been  betrayed  at  Fort  Peyton  and  other  places,  and  not  delivered 
over  to  slave-hunters,  were  also  here ;  and  the  number  had  so 
greatly  increased,  that  many  had  to  be  sent  to  New  Orleans  for 
safe  keeping. 

When  the  Exiles  seized  at  Fort  Jupiter  arrived  at  Tampa  Bay, 
they  found,  among  those  already  there,  many  old  acquaintances, 
friends  and  relatives,  who  had  been  taken  at  other  places.  Fami- 
lies, in  some  instances  long  separated,  were  once  more  united ; 
husbands,  whose  wives  and  children  had  been  seized  and  long 
imprisoned  at  Tampa  Bay,  now  rejoined  their  fomilies,  and  were 
in  some  degree  compensated  for  the  mortification  of  having  been 
made  prisoners  by  treachery. 

But  fathers  and  husbands,  whose  children  and  wives  were  cap- 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  187 

tured  by  the  Creeks  near  Withlacoochee  and  other  places  during  the 
previous  year,  now  looked  around  for  their  families  in  vain.  On 
making  inquiry,  they  were  informed  their  friends  had  been  taken 
to  Fort  Pike,  which  had  now  become  a  general  depot  for  the  impris- 
onment of  Exiles. 

The  Indians  who  had  been  captured  by  this  *'coup  d'etat," 
were  sent  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  for  safe  keeping;  and 
the  negroes  reported  upon  the  registry  as  "slaves  of  citizens  of 
Florida,"  were  without  ceremony  delivered  over  to  those  who 
claimed  to  be  their  masters. 

We  have  now  reached  a  period  of  the  war  at  which  we  are  con- 
strained to  admit  our  inability  to  give  a  full  or  accurate  history  of 
the  various  captures  of  Exiles,  or  of  the  reenslaveraent  of  those 
captured. 

Captain  Sprague,  who  had  the  advantages  of  personal  observa- 
tion and  experience  during  the  war,  says  that  General  Hernandez 
of  the  Florida  Militia,  serving  principally  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
Territory,  "  captured  some  important  chiefs,  and  restored  to  citizens 
*'  more  than  three  hundred  negroes  who  had  been  captured  by  the 
*'  Indians."  But  the  means  which  he  used  for  their  capture  is 
not  stated. 

General  Jessup  informs  us,  also,  that  Abraham,  the  negro  chief, 
and  two  Indians,  were  sent  to  the  Seminoles  west  of  the  Okechobee, 
and  prevailed  upon  Alligator,  and  three  hundred  and  sixty  Indians 
and  negroes,  to  surrender  to  Colonel  Smith  and  General  Taylor. 
But  what  proportion  of  this  number  were  Exiles,  we  are  not  in- 
formed ;  nor  are  we  told  of  the  means  used,  or  the  assurances  given, 
to  induce  them  to  surrender.  It  is  certain,  that  many  of  the  chiefs 
alleged  that  the  Cherokee  Delegation  assured  their  friends,  that 
they  would  be  permitted  to  remain  in  their  own  country,  and  that 
the  President  was  desirous  of  making  peace  upon  those  terms ;  and 
General  Jessup  says,  that  the  negro  chief  Abraham,  and  another 
negro  interpreter   named  Auguste,    gave   the  same    information. 


188  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

Abraham  had  in  fact  dictated  the  supplemental  treaty,  entered  into 
by  the  delegation  while  in  the  Western  Country,  and  was  made  to 
believe,  at  all  times,  that  the  Government  would  fulfill,  and  abide 
by,  the  terms  of  this  supplemental  treaty.  It  was  on  this  con- 
viction that  he  acted,  and  he  appears  never  to  have  doubted  the 
good  faith  of  the  Executive  until  he  actually  arrived  in  the  Western 
Country. 


CHAPTER    X  r  V. 

GREAT  DIFFICULTIES  INTERRUPT  THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR. 

John  Ross,  the  Cherokee  Chief,  demands  the  release  of  Wild  Cat  and  other  Chit^fs  —  An- 
swer of  Secretary  of  War  —  Mr.  Everett's  resolution  in  Congress  —  Secretary's  Report  — 
General  Jessup's  answer  —  Agitation  in  Congress  —  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  —  Hon. 
William  Slade  —  Difficulty  with  Creek  Warriors  —  The  Exiles  who  had  been  captured  by 
the  Crei^ks  — Arrangements  for  emigrating  both  Indians  and  Exiles  —  Indians  at  Charles- 
ton, and  Negroes  at  Tampa  Bay,  transported  to  Fort  Pike  —  Families  again  united  — 
Sympathy  excited  —  General  Gaines  becomes  engaged  in  their  behalf — His  nohle  con- 
duct—  Embarrassment  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  of  the  Secretary  of  War 

—  Singular  arrangement  —  Discrepancies  unexplained — A  Slave-dealer  professes  to 
purchase  ninety  of  the  Exiles,  in  order  to  relieve  the  Government  —  Appoints  his 
brother-in-law  an  Agent  to  receive  them  —  Department  furnishes  the  necessary  voucliers 

—  Sudden  change  of  policy  —  Sixty  Exiles  claimed  by  a  Slave-dealer  named  Love  —  Gen- 
eral Gaines  appears  on  behalf  of  Exiles  —  His  able  defense  —Court  renders  juilgment 
discharging  Rule  —  Thirty-six  Exiles  released  by  Love  —  Lieutenant  Reynolds  with  the 
Indians,  and  all  but  these  thirty  -six  Exiles,  take  passage  for  Fort  Gibson. 

While  General  Jessup  was  engaged  in  carrying  out  the  designs 
of  the  Administration  by  artifice,  and  by  force,  events  of  a  serious 
character  were  transpiring  at  Washington  which  demanded  the 
attention  of  both  the  Executive  and  himself.  John  Ross,  principal 
chief  of  the  Cherokee  Nation,  learning  the  manner  in  which  Osceola, 
Wild  Cat,  and  other  Seminole  chiefs  and  warriors,  had  been  be- 
trayed and  seized,  while  visiting  General  Jessup  under  a  flag  of 
truce,  by  advice  and  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Cherokee  Delegation, 
wrote  an  able  and  very  spirited  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
demanding  the  release  of  the  prisoners  thus  captured  in  violation 
of  the  principles  of  civilized  warfare. 

(189) 


190  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

The  Secretary  attempted  a  vindication  of  General  Jessup,  and 
an  interesting  correspondence  followed,  marked  with  great  ability, 
in  which  Koss,  with  much  force,  exhibits  what  he  seemed  to  regard 
as  the  perfidious  treatment  to  which  the  Seminoles  had  been  sub- 
jected, while  acting  under  the  advice  of  himself  and  his  country- 
men, and  protected  by  the  flag  of  truce,  which  had  ever  been 
recognized  and  held  sacred  as  the  inviolable  emblem  of  peace. 
This  was  the  first  exposure  of  the  manner  in  which  this  disastrous 
war  had  been  conducted.  Up  to  that  time  no  member  of  Congress, 
or  Executive  officer,  appears  to  have  uttered  an  objection  or  protest 
against  the  war,  or  against  the  manner  in  which  it  was  carried  on. 
Ross  was  at  the  city  of  Washington,  and  mingled  freely  with  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  and  in  private  conversations  called  their  attention 
to  the  facts  stated.^ 

Mr.  Everett,  of  Vermont,^  a  man  of  great  experience  and 
ability,  moved  a  resolution  (March  21)  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, calling  on  the  Secretary  of  War  for  such  information  as 
he  possessed  touching  the  capture  of  Indians,  while  visiting  the 
American  army  under  flags  of  truce.  The  resolution  was  adopted, 
and,  in  reply,  the  Secretary  of  War  (April  11)  transmitted  tho 
answer  of  General  Jessup,  in  which  he  rests  his  justification,  upon 
the  bad  faith  which,  he  alleges,  the  Indians  had  previously  exhibit- 
ed towards  the  United  States.  This  answer  occupies  some  fifteen 
documentary  pages,  most  of  which  are  filled  with  the  facts  already 
known  to  the  reader. 

(1)  These  facts  may  all  be  found  in  the  4th,  5th,  7th,  8th,  11th  &  12th  yols.  of  Ex.  Doc,, 
2d  Sess.  XXV th  Congress  ;  the  letters  of  Ross  and  correspondence  of  General  Jessup,  and 
official  reports,  occupying  several  hundred  pages. 

(2)  Horace  Everett,  who  was  many  years  a  Representative  in  Congress,  an  ardent  WTiig, 
and  constant  opponent  of  Jackson  and  Van  Buren.  Affer  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of 
War  in  answer  to  his  resolution  had  been  received,  Mr.  Everett  made  a  speech  on  the  sub- 
ject, exposing  the  manner  in  which  the  war  had  been  conducted,  and  intimated  that  it  was 
more  immediately  connected  with  the  support  of  slavery  than  it  ought  to  be.  But  while 
he  was  careful  to  say  nothing  exceptionable  to  the  slave  interest,  he  certainly  entitled  him- 
self to  the  honor  of  being  the  first  member  who  a«sailed  the  war,  and  the  first  to  hold  the 
Administration  responsible  for  the  manner  in  which  it  was  prosecuted.  The  speech  may 
be  found  at  length  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Congressional  Globe  of  that  session. 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  191 

After  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  had  been  printed,  Mr. 
Everett  gave  his  views  upon  the  facts,  in  a  speech  which  attracted 
much  attention  in  the  country.  The  people  were  already  turning 
their  attention  to  the  subject  of  slavery.  Petitions  were  sent  to 
Congress  calling  on  that  body  to  abolish  the  institution  within  the 
District  of  Columbia.  The  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  had  thrown 
the  weight  of  his  influence  in  behalf  of  the  right  of  petition,  and 
was  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  institution.  Hon.  William  Sladc, 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Vermont,  had 
openly  avowed  his  deep  and  heart-felt  sympathy  with  the  Abolition- 
ists, who  were  striving  to  direct  the  popular  mind  to  the  crimes  of 
the  ''peculiar  mstitutiofi,^^  as  slavery  was  then  called. 

It  was  evident,  that  a  full  exposure  of  the  causes  which  led  to 
the  Florida  war,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  prosecu- 
ted, would  tend  to  defeat  the  Democratic  candidate  in  the  next 
Presidential  campaign.  It  was  therefore  clearly  the  policy  of  that 
party,  and  of  the  Administration,  to  maintain  as  great  a  degree  of 
silence  as  possible  upon  all  these  subjects. 

Amono;  the  early  difficulties  presented  to  the  consideration  of  the 
War  Department,  was  the  settlement  with  the  Creek  warriors  who 
had  served  under  the  contract  made  by  order  of  General  Jessup,  in 
1836,  to  give  them  a  certain  gross  amount  in  cash,  and  all  the 
plimder  they  could  capture — which  General  Jessup  and  the  Creeks 
understood  to  embrace  negroes,  as  well  as  horses  and  cattle. 

The  General,  by  his  order,  had  directed  eight  thousand  dollars 
to  be  paid  to  them,  and  twenty  dollars  for  each  negro  belonging  to 
citizens,  who  had  been  captured  by  them  and  delivered  over  to  the 
claimants. 

This  disposal  of  the  public  treasure  by  an  individual,  was  most 
clearly  unauthorized,  either  by  law  or  by  the  constitution  ;  yet  the 
order  had  been  approved  by  the  Executive,  and  had  been  made  the 
act  of  the  President,  who  thus  assumed  the  moral  and  political 
responsibility  attached  to  this  gross  violation  of  law,  and  of  the 
Constitution. 


•192  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

The  question  how  this  charge  upon  the  treasury  was  to  be  met, 
seems  to  have  borne  heavily  upon  the  mind  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs,  and  he  expressed  this  dijBiculty  to  General  Jessup. 
That  officer,  being  less  familiar  with  matters  of  finance  than  with 
those  of  a  strictly  military  character,  replied,  that  the  amount  might 
with  propriety  be  charged  to  the  annuities  due  the  Serainoles ;  but 
as  that  fund  was  under  the  supervision  of  Congress,  it  would  not 
do  to  charge  it  over  to  that  appropriation,  lest  it  should  create 
agitation. 

Another  difficulty  was,  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  negroes  them- 
selves. They  were  now  said  to  be  the  ''property  of  the  United 
States  ;^'  and  the  question  very  naturally  arose,  what  shall  be  done 
with  them  ?  This  question  was  also  propounded  to  General  Jes- 
sup by  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.  The  General  replied, 
that  he  thought  it  best  to  send  them  to  Africa,  for  the  benefit  of 
civilization  on  that  coast.  But  that  could  not  be  done  except  by 
appropriations  made  by  Congress ;  and  it  was  feared  that,  to  ask 
Congress  for  an  appropriation  of  that  character,  might  lead  to  the 
disclosure  of  unpleasant  facts. ^ 

In  the  meantime,  arrangements  were  made  to  send  the  prisoners, 
both  Indians  and  Exiles,  to  the  Western  Country,  without  any 
particular  decision  in  regard  to  the  ninety  negroes  captured  by  the 
Creek  warriors,  and  sent  to  Fort  Pike  as  the  property  of  the  United 
States,  and  fed  and  clothed  at  the  public  expense  for  more  than  a 
year. 

Agreeably  to  orders  from  the  War  Department,  General  Jessup 
detailed  Lieutenant  J.  G.  Reynolds  to  superinteml  the  emigiation, 
as  disbursing  agent,  and  W.  G  Freeman  as  an  assistant.  These 
appointments  were  approved  by  the  Department ;  and  transports 
were  engaged  to  take  such  prisoners  as  were  at  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  around  the  peninsula  of  Florida  to  Tampa  Bay,  on  the 
western  coast,  and  thence  to  New  Orleans. 

(1)  Vide  Letter  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  to  Secretary  of  War,  9th  May,  18Ci8. 
Br.  Doc.  225,  2d  Sess.  XXVth  Congress. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  193 

There  were  at  that  time  many  negroes  at  Tampa  Bay,  inten- 
tionally separated  from  the  Indians,  who  had  been  sent,  at  the 
same  time,  to  Charleston.  Major  Zantzinger  wrote  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs,  to  know  how  these  negroes  at  Tampa 
Bay  were  to  be  disposed  of.  The  Commissioner  immediately  an- 
swered by  letter,  directed  to  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  saying,  "  I  have 
"  to  instruct  you,  that  all  of  those  negroes  mentioned  by  Major 
**  Zantzinger,  which  are  the  property  of  the  Seminoles,^  are  to  be 
**  received  with,  and  to  constitute  a  portion  of,  the  emigrating  party 
"  for  all  purposes  of  transportation  and  subsistence.  *  *  *  * 
**  You  will  consider  it  your  duty  to  call  at  Tampa  Bay,  receive  this 
' '  party,  and  transport  it  to  the  West  with  the  detachment  now  at 
"  New  Orleans. ^^ 

This  direction  required  Lieutenant  Reynolds  to  transport  the 
ninety  Exiles,  sent  to  New  Orleans  on  the  second  of  June,  1837, 
to  the  Western  Country;  for  they  constituted  a  part  of  '*  the  detach- 
ment at  New  Orleans,"  which  he  was  directed  to  transport  West. 
They  had  been  captured  while  fleeing  from  our  army,  and  of  course 
were  nearly  all  of  them  women  and  children,  who,  by  the  fortunes 
of  war,  had  been  separated  from  their  husbands,  and  fathers,  and 
brothers,  that  were  left  behind  in  the  Indian  Country.  Those  hus- 
bands, brothers  and  fathers,  were  among  the  first  to  capitulate  in 
order  to  rejoin  their  families  from  whom  they  had  thus  been  sepa- 
rated. Many  Exiles  had  been  betrayed  and  seized  at  Fort  Peyton. 
Some  had  surrendered  at  Volusi ;  others  had  capitulated  at  Fort 
Jupiter ;  others  had  come  in  and  given  themselves  up  at  different 
posts :  and  all  these  were  assembled  for  transportation  at  "  Tampa 
Bay,"  where  they  awaited  arrangements  for  sending  them  to  the 
Western  Country. 

Major  General  Gaines  was  at  that  time  commanding  the  south- 

(1)  Major  Zantzinger,  like  many  other  officers,  appears  to  have  thought  that  every  negro 
must  have  a  master,  and  he  called  these  Exiles  the  property  of  the  Seminoles,  although 
the  Agent  for  that  Tribe  had  reported  a  few  years  previously,  that  the  number  of  slaTes 
owned  by  them  did  not  exceed  forty. 

13 


194  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

western  division  of  the  army  of  the  United  States ;  and  Fort  Pike 
was  situated  within  his  military  district.  Lieutenant  Reynolds  had 
taken  the  prisoners  at  Charleston  on  board  the  transports ;  had  sailed 
around  the  peninsula  of  Florida ;  called  at  Tampa  Bay ;  had  taken 
on  board  the  negroes  assembled  at  that  point,  and  had  reached  Fort 
Pike. 

Members  of  familes  long  separated  were  now  united.  Fathers 
embraced  their  wives  and  children,  whom  they  had  not  seen  for 
more  than  a  year ;  brothers  and  sons  embraced  their  sisters  and 
mothers ;  and  all  exhibited  those  deep  sympathies  of  the  human 
heart,  which  constitute  the  higher  and  holier  emotions  of  our  nature. 
The  officers  and  soldiers  who  witnessed  this  scene  could  not  but  feel 
interested  in  these  people,  many  of  whose  ancestors  had  fled  from  op- 
pression generations  previously,  and  who,  for  more  than  half  a  centu- 
ry, had  been  subjected  to  almost  constant  persecution.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly owing  to  these  circumstances,  that  so  many  of  the  officers 
of  our  army  became  deeply  interested  in  securing  their  freedom. 

Major  Zantzinger  was  in  command  at  Fort  Pike ;  but  he  could 
only  act  under  the  direction  of  his  superior  officers.  Lieutenant 
Reynolds,  therefore,  applied  to  Major  General  Gaines  for  orders  to 
Major  Zantzinger  to  deliver  the  Exiles  at  Fort  Pike  to  him  for  emi- 
gration. From  the  peculiar  language  used  in  this  order,  it  is  most 
evident  that  General  Gaines  expected  some  effort  would  be  made  to 
prevent  the  emigration  of  the  Exiles,  then  resident  at  Fort  Pike. 
The  order  is  so  unusual  in  its  tone  and  language,  that  we  insert  it, 
as  follows : 

*•  To  Major  Zantzinger,  or  the  officer  commanding  at  Fort  Pike, 
**  or  the  officer  who  has  charge  of  the  slaves,  or  other  servants,  be- 
*'  longing  to,  or  lately  in  possession  of,  Seminole  Indians,  now  in 
*•  charge  of  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  destined  to  the  Arkansas  :  You 
**will,  on  receipt  hereof,  deliver  to  the  said  Reynolds  all  such  slaves 
*'  or  servants  belonging  to,  or  claimed  by,  or  lately  in  possession  of, 
**  the  said  Seminole  Indians  to  be  conducted  by  him  in  their  move- 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  195 

"  ments  to  the  Arkansas  River,  where  the  Indians,  or  their  slaves 
**  or  servants,  are  to  be  permanently  located  and  settled :  taking 
'*  triplicate  receipts  for  said  slaves  or  servants,  one  of  which  will  be 
"  forwarded  to  the  undersigned.  , ^^^^^^^  p  ^^^^^^^ 

"  Maj.  Gen.  U.  S.  A,  Commanding.^'* 

The  above  order  was  dated  on  the  twenty-first  of  March.  The 
next  day  Lieutenant  Reynolds  inclosed  a  copy  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs,  saying,  he  should  commence  his  voyage  West 
with  the  emigrants,  and  adding,  "It  is  not  my  intention  to  remove 
*'  the  negroes  from  Fort  Pike  until  ready  for  departure,  as  I  am 
**  convinced  that  many  individuals  with  fraudulent  claims  are  in  a 
*'  state  of  readiness,  and  only  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  negroes  in 
'*  this  city  (New  Orleans)  to  carry  their  object  into  effect.  The 
"  measures  I  shall  adopt  will  bar  their  intention." 

This  letter  explains  the  reason  of  the  precise  and  specific  terms 
in  which  the  order  of  General  Gaines  was  expressed.  It  is  due  to 
the  memory  of  General  Gaines,  and  to  the  character  of  Lieutenant 
Reynolds,  that  their  determined  efforts  to  preserve  the  liberties  of 
these  people,  so  far  as  they  were  able,  should  find  a  place  in  his- 
tory. The  war  had  been  commenced  and  prosecuted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seizing  and  returning  to  bondage  all  those  people  whose 
ancestors  had  once  fled  from  oppression.  It  was  the  avowed  policy 
of  the  Administration  to  prevent  these  ninety  Exiles,  who  had  been 
captured  by  the  Creek  Indians,  from  going  to  the  Western  Country, 
prefering  to  have  ih^m  consigned  to  slavery  in  Georgia  or  Florida, 
rather  than  enjoy  freedom  in  the  new  homes  assigned  to  the  Indians 
in  the  West.  This  feeling  had  encouraged  desperate  men  to  make 
unfounded  claims  to  their  persons :  and  it  should  be  recorded  to 
the  honor  of  many  of  our  officers,  that  they  were  active  and  vigi- 
lant in  their  efforts  to  defeat  these  piratical  claims,  and  the  exer- 
tions of  the  President  and  heads  of  the  various  Executive  Depart- 
ments, to  consign  these  people  to  interminable  bondage.  In  order 
to  do  justice  on  this  subject,  it  is  necessary  to  permit  all  concerned 


196 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


to  speak  for  themselves,  so  far  as  convenience  will  allow.  To 
carry  out  this  object,  the  reader  will  excuse  our  frequent  quota- 
tions from  ofi&cial  documents. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  March,  Lieutenant  Reynolds  wrote  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  dating  his  letter  at  *'  New  Bar- 
racks," below  New  Orleans,  saying,  "The  Indian  negroes  will  be 
"received  at  Fort  Pike,  and  brought  to  this  place,  via  the  Missis- 
"  sippi  River.  This  course  was  adopted  with  the  concurrence  of 
"  General  Gaines.  Everything  will  be  in  readiness  to  embark  soon 
"  as  the  boat  arrives.  General  Gaines  has  directed  that  the  guard 
"  under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant  Wheaton  shall  proceed  with 
"me." 

Major  Zantzinger,  who  commanded  at  Fort  Pike,  appears  to  have 
felt  some  delicacy  at  delivering  up  the  negroes  on  the  order  of  Gen- 
eral Gaines,  and,  with  those  impressions,  wrote  General  Jessup, 
inquiring  as  to  that  point.  He  received  an  answer,  dated  seventh 
of  April,  approving  his  course,  and  saying,  "  the  removal  of  the 
"  negroes  -was  j)roper  ;  they  were  either  free,  or  the  property  of  the 
"Indians." 

All  these  proceedings  were  reported  to  the  proper  Department  at 
"Washington.  About  the  time,  or  soon  after,  they  would  naturally 
reach  that  city,  "William  Armstrong,  Acting  Superintendent  of  the 
Indians  in  the  Western  Territory,  evidently  in  the  joint  service  of 
our  Government  and  of  the  Creek  Indians,  addressed  a  note  to  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  dated  at  W^ashington  City,  April 
twenty-third,  1838,  saying,  "When  General  Jessup  called  upon 
"  volunteers  to  go  to  Florida,  he  promised  them  all  the  property 
"  they  could  capture.  Accordingly,  the  Creeks  captured  near  one 
"  hundred  negroes,  which  they  left  in  possession  of  the  officers  of 
*'  the  United  States.  What  has  become  of  these  negroes  ?  Will 
"  they  receive  them,  or  their  value,  as  promised  ?  " 

The  difficulty  attending  the  transformation  of  men  into  chattels 
now  increased  so  much,  that  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  War,  which  is  so  charao- 


THE    EXILES    OP    FLORIDA. 


197 


teristic  of  the  manner  in  which  the  administration  of  our  Govern- 
ment was  then  conducted,  that  we  give  the  letter  in  full : 

"War  Department, 
"  Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  May  1, 1888. 

"Sir :  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  for  the  consideration  and  de- 
"  cision  of  the  Department  a  question  that  has  been  presented  by 
**  the  Superintendent  of  the  Western  Territory,  (Captain  Arm- 
**  strong.) 

"In  September  last,  Gen.eral  Jessup  advised  the  Department 
"  that  he  had  purchased  from  the  Creek  warriors  all  the  negi'oes 
"  (about  eighty  in  number),  captured  by  them,  for  $8,000,  and 
**  this  purchase  was  approved  on  the  seventh  of  October.  At  a 
"  subsequent  date,  he  wrote  that  he  had  supplied  Lieutenant  Searle 
**  with  funds,  and  directed  him  to  make  the  payment.  It  is  believed, 
"however,  that  the  warriors  refused  to  take  the  sum  named,  Lieu- 
"  tenant  Searle  having  made  no  such  payment,  and  the  delegation 
"here  asserting  that  they  never  received  it.  It  is  now  asked, 
"  whether  they  will  be  permitted  to  take  the  negroes,  or  be  paid 
"  their  value?  It  was  suggested  by  General  Jessup,  that  the  con- 
"  sideration  for  the  captives  would  be  a  proper  charge  on  the  Serai- 
"  nole  annuity.  But  this  would  deprive  the  friendly  portion,  who 
"  have  emigrated,  of  what  they  are  justly,  and  by  Jaw,  entitled  to, 
"  and  to  a  certain  extent  would  be  paying  the  Creeks  with  their 
"  own  money ;  for  the  fourth  Article  of  the  Treaty  with  the  Semi- 
"noles,  of  May  ninth,  1832,  provides,  that  'the  annuities  then 
"  granted  shall  be  added  to  the  Creek  annuities,  and  the  whole 
"  amount  be  so  divided  that  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Semi- 
"nole  Indians  may  receive  their  equitable  proportion  of  the  same 
"  as  members  of  the  Creek  confederation.'  Independently  of  this 
"  difficulty,  I  would  respectfully  suggest,  whether  there  are  not 
"  other  objections  to  the  purchase  of  these  negroes  hy  the  United 
"  States  ?  It  seems  to  me,  that  a  proposition  to  Congress  to  ap- 
**  propriate  money  to  pay  for  them,  and  for  their  transportation 


198  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

"  to  Africa,  could  its  authority  for  that  course  he  obtained,  or  for 
"  any  other  disposition  of  them,  would  occasion  great  and  ex- 
"  TENSIVE  excitement.  Such  a  relation  assumed  by  the  United 
*•  States,  for  however  laudable  an  object,  would,  it  appears  proba- 
"  bie,  place  the  country  in  no  enviable  attitude,  especially  at  this 
"juncture,  when  the  public  mind  here  and  elsewhere  is  so  sensi- 
"  tive  upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  The  alternative  would  seem  to 
**  be,  to  deliver  the  negroes  to  the  Creeks,  as  originally  agreed  on. 
**  The  subject  involves  so  many  delicate  considerations,  that  I  re- 
"  spectfully  invite  your  attention  to  it,  and  your  direction  as  to  the 
"  answer  to  be  given  to  the  delegation  now  in  the  city  As  early 
"  a  decision  of  this  question  as  practicable,  is  very  desirable  :  the 
"  Indians  intending  to  leave  this  place  in  four  or  five  days,  and 
"  being  anxious  that  this  matter  should  be  disposed  of  before  they 
"go. 

*'Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  (J.  A.  HARRIS,  Convnissioner, 
"Captain  S.  Coopeb,  Acting  Scc'y  of  War.-' 

'*  P.  S. — If  it  should  be  determined  to  deliver  them  to  the 
*'  Creeks,  I  would  suggest,  as  the  opinion  of  this  office,  that  it 
"  would  be  impolitic  for  them  to  be  taken  to  itie  country  West,  and 
"  that  so  far  as  the  Department  may  of  right  interfere  in  regard  to 
*'  the  ultimate  disposition,  it  should  endeavor  to  have  it  effected  in 

*'  SOME  OTHER  MODE.  C.  A.  H.'* 

It  is  no  part  of  our  duty  to  comment  on  these  .proceedings ; 
yet  we  are  constrained  to  say,  that  no  historian  has,  or  can 
explain  the  reason  of  delay  on  the  part  of  the  Creek  Indians, 
in  regard  to  their  claim  to  these  people,  for  more  than  an  entire 
year,  upon  any  principles  of  consistent  action.  General  Jessup 
said,  in  his  official  communications,  they  had  received  their  pay^ 
and  that  "the  negroes  were  the  property  of  the  Government ;^^ 
and  tlie  Department  had  approved  his  whole  course  on  this  subject. 
The  Creeks,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  left  the  country  and  went  West, 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  199 

perfectly  satisfied.  This  Delegation  had  been  some  months  in 
"Washington,  and.,  as  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  says,  were 
to  leave  in  four  or  five  days ;  when,  for  the  first  time,  they  men- 
tioned the  subject,  although  the  negroes  had  been  detained  from 
them,  as  they  allege,  in  direct  violation  of  their  contract.  They 
appear  to  have  rested  satisfied  until  difficulties  from  other  quarters 
were  presented  to  the  Administration.  And  these  letters  may  all 
easily  be  explained,  as  the  carrying  out  of  a  previous  understanding 
between  these  oflficers  and  the  Creek  Indians.  However  that  may 
be,  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  wrote  Captain  Armstrong, 
Superintendent  of  the  Western  Territory,  as  follows : 

•'War  Department, 
"  Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  May  5,  1838. 

"  Sir  :  The  Secretary  of  War  has  directed  that  the  negroes  be- 
*'  longing  to  the  Seminoles,  and  captured  by  the  warriors  in  Florida, 
"  shall  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Delegation  now  in  this  city. 
"  But  before  this  can  be  carried  into  effect,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
•'  be  satisfied  that  the  warriors  have  not  received  the  $8,000  prom- 
*•  ised  in  the  agreement  with  General  Jessup ;  to  ascertain  accu- 
**  rately  their  number  and  identity,  and  the  claims  of  citizens  upon 
"  any  of  them.  For  all  to  which  such  claims  can  be  established, 
*'  $20  each  will  be  allowed.  From  the  information  now  here,  the 
**  number  is  supposed  to  be  between  sixty  and  seventy,  the  original 
"  number  having  been  reduced  by  sickness.  All  the  facts  herein 
"  indicated  will  be  required  as  early  as  practicable ;  but  some  time 
*'  must  necessarily  elapse.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Department, 
"  that  it  will  be  impolitic  to  take  these  negroes  West,  and  that  they 
*'  should  be  otherwise  disposed  of.  Any  arrangement  the  Delega- 
*'  tion  may  make  respecting  them,  and  submit  to  this  ofiice,  will  be 
•'  sanctioned,  and  instructions  given  for  such  action  as  may  be 
*'  proper  on  the  part  of  the  Government. 

"  Very,  &c.,  C.  A.  HARRIS. 

"Capt.  Wm.  Armstrong, 

"  Washington." 


200  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

One  feature  in  these  communications  stands  out  prominently  to 
the  view  of  the  reader  :  the  number  of  these  victims  appears  to  have 
undergone  constant  diminution.  General  Jessup  reported  the 
number  sent  to  Fort  Pike  at  ninety.  In  his  previous  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Commissioner  Harris  states  the 
number  at  eighty ;  and  in  this  communication,  written  four  days 
subsequently,  he  states  the  number  to  be  between  sixty  and  seven- 
ty ;  while  the  ofl&cial  registry  shows  there  was  one  hundred  and 
three  —  of  whom  some,  however,  undoubtedly  died. 

If  the  honorable  Secretary  of  War  intended  these  people  should 
be  delivered  over  to  the  Creek  Indians  as  their  property,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  understand  by  what  law  he  should  himself  attempt  to 
control  them,  in  the  subsequent  disposition  of  their  legalized  chat- 
tels, or  by  what  authority  he  should  object  to  their  going  West. 

It  will  however  be  seen  that  one  point  yet  remained  undecided. 
The  negroes  were  not  to  be  delivered  until  it  was  ascertained 
that  the  Creeks  had  not  received  the  eight  thousand  dollars, 
agreeably  to  the  order  of  General  Jessup  in  September,  1837. 

Fortunately,  a  Lieutenant  Sloan,  who  had  acted  as  a  disbursing 
agent  of  the  United  States,  was  at  that  precise  time  in  Washington 
City.  He  stated  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  in  a  letter 
dated  May  sixth,  being  the  day  after  this  decision  of  the  Secretary 
of  War,  assuring  him  that  he  had  learned  from  Lieutenant  Searle 
himself  that  the  Indians  refused  to  accept  the  eight  thousand  dol- 
lars for  their  interest  in  the  negroes.  These  statements  constituted 
a  series  of  supposed  facts,  which  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as 
necessary  to  authorize  the  subsequent  proceedings. 

This  evidence  was,  accordingly,  deemed  satisfactory ;  and  the 
Creek  Indians  were  now  declared  to  be  the  owners  of  these  ninety 
Exiles,  under  the  original  contract  made  between  them  and  General 
Jessup,  in  1836:  thus  abrogating  the  order  of  General  Jessup, 
No.  175,  and  setting  aside  the  approval  of  that  order  by  the  De- 
partment of  War  itself — which  was  dated  the  seventh  of  Octobdy, 
1837 — leaving  the  United  States  to  sustain  the  loss  incurred  by 

\ 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  /  201 

feeding  and  clothing  the  prisoners,  and  guarding  them  for  thirteen 
months. 

At  this  time  a  slave-dealer  by  the  name  of  James  C.  Watson,  said 
to  reside  in  Georgia,  happened  to  be  also  at  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment, as  was  common  for  Southern  gentlemen  during  the  sessions 
of  Congress.  To  this  man  the  officers  of  Government  now  applied 
for  aid,  in  extricating  themselves  from  the  difficulty  into  which 
they  had  been  brought  by  this  slave-dealing  transaction.  Even  the 
Secretary  of  War  is  said  to  have  encouraged  Watson  to  purchase 
those  negroes  of  the  Creek  Indians.^  By  request  of  these  public 
functionaries,  and  at  their  instance,  Mr.  Watson  declares  he  was 
induced  to  purchase  the  negroes,  and  to  give  between  fourteen  and 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  them.^  It  was  perhaps  the  heaviest 
purchase  of  slaves  made  in  the  city  of  Washington  during  that  year, 
and  certainly  the  most  dignified  transaction  in  human  flesh  that 
ever  took  place  at  the  capital  of  our  nation,  or  of  any  other  civilized 
people ;  inasmuch  as  the  high  officers  of  this  enlightened  and  Chris- 
tian confederation  of  States  constituted  a  negotiating  party  to  this 
important  sale  of  human  beings. 

The  purchase  appears  to  have  taken  place  on  the  seventh  of 
May;  and  Watson,  being  unable  to  go  immediately  to  New  Orleans, 
authorized  his  brother-in-law,  Nathaniel  F.  Collins  of  Alabama,  as 
his  agent  and  attorney,  to  repair  to  that  city  and  take  possession 
of  the  prisoners.  Yet  the  Vi^hole  business  appears  to  have  been 
carried  on  in  the  name  of  the  Creek  Indians. 

On  the  eighth  of  May,  five  persons,  styling  themselves  "  chiefs, 
head-men  and  delegates  of  the  Creek  Tribe  of  Indians,"  filed  with 
the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  a  request,  stating  that  they 
had  appointed  Nathaniel  F.  Collins,  Esq.,  of  Alabama,  their  agent 
and  attorney,  to  demand  and  receive  from  General  Jessup  the  negro 
slaves  which  the  Creek  warriors  had  captured  in  Florida,  under 

(1)  Vido  Watson's  Petition  and  proofs,  in  support  of  his  claim,  presented  to  Congress  — 
Ist  Ses3.  XXVIth  Cong. —  now  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Bepresea- 
tativos. 

(2)  Vido  Watson's  Statement  of  facts  in  this  case,  on  file  with  the  above  papers. 


iPMiiPMiiPlij^ppipiiippiPRpiHnii 


202  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

their  agreement  with  that  officer,  made  in  September,  1836,  and 
requesting  the  Djpartraent  to  furnish  the  proper  order  for  obtain- 
ing possession  of  the  slaves  from  the  officer  having  them  in  charge. 
This  request  was  communicated  to  the  Secretary  of  War  the  next 
day,  by  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  constitutes  a  part 
of  the  record ;  and,  coming  from  that  department  of  government 
most  impUcated  in  this  slave-dealing  transaction,  we  place  it  before 
the  reader : 

•'  War  Department, 
"  Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  May  9, 1838. 

"  Sir  :  The  decision  made  a  few  days  since,  requesting  that  the 
**  negroes  captured  by  the  Creek  warriors  in  Florida,  should,  in 
*'  compliance  with  the  engagement  of  General  Jessup,  be  delivered 
*'  to  the  Delegation  now  here,  has  been  communicated  to  them  with 
**  the  intimation  that,  when  they  had  determined  what  disposition 
"  would  be  made  of  them,  and  communicated  information  of  the 
**  same  to  this  Department,  the  necessary  orders  would  be  issued. 
*'  In  a  communication  just  received  from  the  Delegation,  they  state 
**  they  have  appointed  Nathaniel  F.  Collins,  of  Alabama,  their 
*•  attorney  in  fact  to  receive  the  negroes.  I  have  the  honor  to 
**  request  that  an  order  be  issued  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort 
**  Pike ;  to  Major  Isaac  Clark,  at  New  Orleans ;  to  the  command- 
"  ing  officer  in  Florida,  and  to  any  other  officer  who  may  have 
*'  charge  of  them,  to  deliver  to  Mr.  Collins  all  the  negroes  in  ques- 
*'  tion.  He  will,  of  course,  hold  them  subject  to  the  lawful  claims 
"  of  all  white  persons.  Abraham  and  his  family  should  be  except- 
**  ed,  in  consequence  of  a  promise  made  by  General  Jessup.  The 
"  officers  should  be  instructed  to  use  due  caution,  so  as  to  deliver 
**  only  those  captured  by  the  Creeks.  It  is  proper  to  remark,  that 
'*  it  appears  from  a  letter  received  from  Lieutenant  Sloan,  that 
**  these  Indians  refused  to  receive  the  $8,000,  offered  them  under 
**  the  direction  of  General  Jessup,  for  their  interest  in  these  negroes. 

"Very  respectfully. 


"  Capt.  S.  Cooper,  Acting  Sec.  of  War." 


Your  most  obediont  servant, 

"C.  A.  HARRIS. 


THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  ^        203 

On  the  same  day,  Mr.  Collins  was  furnished  with  written  in- 
structions, which,  being  also  important,  are  presented  to  the  reader : 

"War  Department, 
«'  Office  of  Indian  Affairs^  May  9,  1833. 

*'  Sir  :  Having  been  notified  by  the  Creek  Delegation  that  they 
'•  have  appointed  you  their  agent  and  attorney  in  fact,  to  receive 
"  the  negroes  captured  by  their  warriors  in  Florida,  which,  by  the 
"  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  are  to  be  delivered  up  to  them, 
**  in  conformity  to  the  agreement  made  with  them  by  General  Jes- 
"  sup,  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  the  copy  of  a  commu- 
"  nication  to  the  Secretary  of  War  on  the  subject,  which  has 
"  received  his  approval.  Orders  will  be  given  to  the  officers 
"  therein  named  to  carry  the  measure  into  effect,  in  conformity 
*'  to  the  recommendation.  Captain  Morrison,  Superintendent  of 
"  Seminole  Emigration  at  Tampa  Bay,  and  Lieutenant  Reynolds, 
"  engaged  in  removing  a  party  of  the  same,  at  New  Orleans,  have 
"  been  instructed  to  assist  and  cooperate  in  the  matter.  Here- 
**  with  you  will  receive  the  copy  of  a  list  of  negroes  captured  by 
**  General  Jessup,  which,  it  is  believed,  embraces  the  negroes  to 
*•  which  the  Creeks  are  entitled ;  but  as  this  is  not  certain,  much 
**  caution  should  be  used  in  identifying  them.  It  is  supposed  that 
**  all  these  negroes  now  alive  are  at  Fort  Pike ;  but  some  of  them 
"  may  be  at  Tampa  Bay,  or  other  places  :  it  will  be  for  you  to  find 
"  them.  No  expense  of  any  nature  whatever,  growing  out  of  this 
"  matter,  will  be  paid  by  the  United  States. 

"  C.  A.  HARRIS,  ComrrCr. 
''  N.  F.  Collins, 

"  Washington,  D.  C." 

Preparations  being  now  perfected,  and  the  whole  matter  being 
fully  understood,  Mr.  Collins  left  Washington  on  the  following 
morning,  prepared  to  bring  those  fathers,  and  mothers,  and  children, 
back  to  servitude  in  Georgia,  from  which  their  ancestors  had  fled 
nearly  a  hundred  years  previously ;  and  this  neforious  work  was 
thus  encouraged  and  sanctioned  by  our  Government. 


204  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

Of  these  movements  the  Exiles  were  ignorant.  Many  hearts 
were  moved  in  sympathy  for  them,  and  many  of  our  military  offi- 
cers were  active  in  their  endeavors  to  defeat  the  machinations  of  the 
President  and  the  War  Department. 

Lieutenant  Reynolds  found  it  necessary  to  return  to  Florida  be- 
fore leaving  New  Orleans  with  his  party  of  Emigrants.  While  he 
was  absent,  the  efforts  of  slaveholders  to  reenslave  these  people 
appeared  to  increase,  and  they  became  more  bold,  although  Collins 
had  not  yet  appeared,  clothed  with  the  authority  of  Government,  to 
effect  their  enslavement. 

General  Gaines,  commanding  the  Western  Military  District  of 
the  United  States,  and  residing  at  New  Orleans,  as  if  premonished 
of  the  arrival  of  this  national  slave  catcher,  Lssued  his  peremptory 
order  (April  29),  directing  Major  Clark,  Acting  Quarter-Master  at 
New  Orleans,  to  make  arrangements  for  the  immediate  embarkation 
and  emigration  of  the  Seminole  Indians  and  black  prisoners  of 
war,  at  that  time  in  Louisiana,  to  the  place  of  their  destination  on 
the  Arkansas  River,  near  Fort  Gibson. 

Major  Clark  being  thus  placed  in  charge  of  the  prisoners  for  the 
purpose  of  emigrating  them,  at  once  informed  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs,  that  claims  were  "made  for  about  seventy  of  the 
'*  Seminole  negroes,  and  the  courts  here  have  issued  their  warrants 
**  to  take  them.  The  United  States  District  Attorney  has  been 
**  consulted.  He  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that  iho,  Sheriff  must  be 
"allowed  to  serve  the  process.  It  appears  they  are  claims  from 
**  Georgia,  purchased  from  Creek  Indians.  No  movement  of  the 
"  Indians  or  negroes  can  be  made  at  present.  The  Indians  are 
*•  almost  in  a  state  of  mutiny." 

This  state  of  feeling  arose  from  these  attempts  again  to  separate 
the  Indians  and  negroes.  Many  of  them  were  intermarried  :  they 
had  been  separated  ;  their  families  broken  up,  but  were  now  reuni- 
ted, and  they  determined  to  die  rather  than  be  again  separated. 
The  Exiles  had  also  fought  boldly  beside  the  Indians ;  they  had 
encountered  dangers  together,  and  had  become  attached  to  each 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLOBIDA.  205 

other ;  and  soon  as  the  subject  of  surrendering  the  Exiles  to  bond- 
age was  named,  the  Indians  became  enraged,  threatening  violence 
and  death  to  those  who  should  attempt  again  to  separate  them  from 
the  Exiles. 

The  claimants  mentioned  by  Major  Clark,  were  from  Georgia. 
The  pirates  who  robbed  E-con-chattiniico  and  Walker  of  their  slaves 
and  seized  the  Exiles  resident  with  those  chiefs,  as  stated  in  a 
former  chapter,  were  from  Georgia.  Watson,  the  more  dignified 
dealer  in  human  flesh,  and  acting  in  accordance  with  the  advice 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  was  also  from  Georgia  ;  and  all  these 
claims  were  said  to  be  derived  from  Creek  Indians,  who,  as  we  have 
seen,  professed  to  own  all  the  Exiles  who  fled  from  Georgia  after  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  and  prior  to  1802,  together  with  their  de- 
scendants. 

Information,  respecting  these  difficulties  of  reenslaving  the  Ex- 
iles, reached  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and  created  great  em- 
barrassment. The  War  Department  appears  never  to  have  antici- 
pated that  negroes,  who  were  already  prisoners  of  war,  would  find 
friends  or  means  to  awaken  the  sympathy  of  others.  But  it  was 
clear  that  any  litigation  would  make  the  public  acquainted  with  the 
facts. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  on  the  tenth  of  May,  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs  wrote  an  order,  directed  to  General  Jessup,  to 
deliver  up  near  one  hundred  of  these  Exiles  to  Collins,  the  Agent 
of  Watson,  and  two  days  later — that  is,  on  the  twelfth  of  May — 
he  wrote  Thomas  Slidell,  District  Attorney  of  the  United  States  at 
New  Orleans,  saying,  "It  is  represented  to  this  Department,  that 
*'  the  emigration  of  the  Seminoles,  now  near  New  Orleans,  has 
**  been  impeded  by  claims  set  up  to  some  of  their  negroes.  I  am 
**  directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  request  that  you  will  give 
"  the  Indians  your  advice  and  assistance,  and  by  all  proper  and 
*'  legal  means  protect  them  from  injustice  and  from  harrassing  and 
**  improper  interferences  with  their  property  and  persons.  It  is  of 
"  the  highest  importance  that,  if  possible,  no  impediments  should 


206  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

**  be  suffered  to  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  their  speedy  conveyance 
"  to  their  country,  west  of  Arkansas." 

It  is  a  historical  curiosity,  that  the  Secretary  of  War  should  so 
often  change  his  policy.  He  had,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  exerted 
his  influence  to  prevent  those  Exiles»  who  had  been  captured  by  the 
Creeks,  from  going  West. 

On  the  fifth  of  May,  Commissioner  Harris  declared  —  "  it  is  the 
"  opinion  of  the  Department  that  it  will  be  impolitic  to  take  these 
*'  negroes  West  ;^^  and  on  the  ninth,  acting  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  War,  he  furnished  Mr.  Collins  with  authority  to 
demand  and  receive  these  people,  and  instructions  were  also  issued 
"  to  the  officer  commanding  at  Fort  Pike ;  to  Major  Isaac  Clark  at 
**  New  Orleans;  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Florida,  and  to  any 
*'  other  officer  who  may  have  the  negroes  in  charge,"  to  deliver 
them  to  Mr.  Collins ;  while  three  days  afterwards  he  assures  Mr. 
Slidell,  as  before  stated,  "  It  is  of  the  highest  importance  that,  if 
^^ possible,  no  impediments  should  be  suffered  to  be  thrown  in  the 
"  way  of  their  speedy  conveyance  to  their  country,  west  of  Ar- 
"  kansas.^'  This  letter  to  Mr.  Slidell  was  inclosed  in  another  of 
the  same  date,  addressed  to  Major  Clark,  as  follows : 

"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  to-day  of 
"  your  letter  of  the  third  instant. 

"  The  enclosed  copy  of  a  letter  of  this  date  to  the  United  States 
"  District  Attorney  will  show  you  what  measures  have  been  adopted 
**  in  relation  to  the  claims  set  up  to  the  Seminole  negroes.  This  is 
**  all  that  this  Department  can  do  in  this  matter. 

**  It  is  very  much  to  be  regretted,  that  anything  has  occurred  to 
'* prevent  the  speedy  emigration  of  these  Indians.  I  will  be  greatly 
"  obliged  to  you,  should  no  emigrating  agent  be  at  New  Orleans, 
*•  to  give  all  the  aid  in  your  power  in  removing  the  difficulties  which 
**  are  thrown  in  their  way." 

While  the  Executive  officers  at  Washington,  the  Creek  Indians, 
and  the  slave-dealer  Watson,  were  arranging  their  contracts  and  per- 


THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  207 

fecting  their  plans  for  enslaving  those  Exiles,  who  had  been  cap- 
tured with  the  assistance  of  the  Creek  warriors,  an  important  and 
most  spirited  contest  was  progressing  in  New  Orleans. 

Before  one  of  the  courts  of  the  State  of  Louisiana,  a  slave-dealer 
by  the  name  of  Love,  claimed  title  to  the  bodies,  the  bones  and 
muscles,  the  blood  and  sinews,  of  some  sixty  of  these  persons,  held 
by  the  United  States  as  prisoners  of  war.  They  had  been  captured 
by  our  troops  as  hostiles ;  had  been  held  for  thirteen  months  as 
prisoners  of  war  ;  had  been  fed,  and  clothed,  and  guarded,  at  the 
expense  of  the  people  of  the  United  States :  but  they  were  now 
claimed  as  the  property  of  Love.  This  absurdity  was  presented 
before  an  enlightened  court  as  a  grave  question  of  international  law ; 
and  a  determined  effort  was  put  forth  before  that  State  tribunal  to 
change  the  law  of  nations  ;  to  modify  the  law  of  Nature  and  of 
Nature's  God,  so  tar  as  to  transform  men  into  chattels,  and  declare 
these  prisoners  of  war  to  be  the  property  of  their  fellow  men. 

Love  demanded  the  Exiles  of  General  Gaines,  who  was  in  actual 
command  of  the  Western  Military  District  of  the  United  States, 
and  by  virtue  of  his  office  held  control  of  the  Exiles  while  in  his 
district.  Bred  to  the  profession  of  arms,  he  had  made  himself 
familiar  with  those  principles  of  natural,  of  international,  law  which 
point  out  the  rights  of  belligerents,  whether  they  belong  to  the 
victorious  or  the  vanquished  nation.  Being  advised  that  efforts 
were  making  to  get  possession  of  these  Exiles  for  the  purpose  of 
reenslaving  them,  he  indicated  to  the  officer  in  command  at  the  bar- 
racks the  propriety  of  retaining  possession  of  them  as  he  would  of 
other  prisoners  of  war. 

On  the  second  of  May,  the  Sheriff  of  New  Orleans  appeared  at 
the  barracks,  and  desired  to  pass  the  line  of  sentinels  for  the  pur- 
pose of  serving  his  process ;  but  the  sentinel,  punctilious  to  his 
du'y,  refused  to  let  him  enter.  The  Sheriff  then  returned  his  writ 
with  the  following  indorsement  thereon  : 

*•  Received  May  second,  1838,  and  demanded  the  withm  slaves 
*•  of  General  Gaines,  the  defendant,  who  answered  me,  that  he  never 


208  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

"  had  ^e  within  described  slaves  in  his  possession,  or  under  his 
**  control.  I  found  the  slaves  at  the  barracks  of  the  United  States, 
**  but  the  officers  in  charge  of  the  same  refused  to  deliver  them  to 
"me.     Returned  May  eighth,  1838. 

»  FREDERICK  BUISSON,  Sheriff:^ 

The  Exiles  still  remained  in  the  barracks  under  the  officers  in 
charge  of  them ;  and  on  the  ninth  of  May,  General  Gaines  sued 
out  a  rule  to  set  aside  the  order  of  sequestration  upon  the  grounds, 
**  that  the  negroes  were  'prisoners  of  war '  of  the  United  States, 
'*  taken  in  combat  with  the  Seminole  Indians;  that  the  control  of 
"  the  United  States  over  said  negroes,  and  their  right  to  the  control 
'*  of  such  negroes  as  prisoners  of  war,  could  not  be  taken  away  by 
"the  sequestration  issued." 

Thus  was  the  manhood  of  these  colored  people  asserted  by  this 
military  officer  of  the  United  States  at  that  day,  when  few  mem- 
bers of  Congress  would  have  hazarded  their  reputation  by  the 
avowal  of  similar  doctrines.  Twenty-three  years  previously,  as 
the  reader  has  already  been  informed.  General  Gaines  gave  to 
the  War  Department  notice  that  "fugitives  and  outlaws  had  taken 
"possession  of  a  fort  on  the  Appalachicola  River."  Twenty-two 
years  previously,  he  had  detailed  General  Clinch,  with  his  regiment 
and  five  hundred  Creek  warriors,  to  destroy  "  Blount's  Fort,"  and 
take  the  fugitive  slaves  and  return  them  to  their  owners.  He  had 
only  two  years  previously  gone  to  Florida,  marched  into  the  Indian 
Territory,  and  fought  them  bravely  for  several  days.  He  now  saw 
these  Exiles  and  Indians  in  a  different  situation.  He  witnessed 
their  attachment  to  each  other  as  parents  and  children,  as  husbands 
and  wives,  as  members  of  the  human  family,  and  his  sympathy 
was  aroused  —  his  humanity  was  awakened.  His  finer  feelings  be- 
ing called  forth,  he  possessed  the  firmness,  the  independence,  to 
act  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience  and  judgment.^ 

(1)  Several  years  after  this  transaction,  the  Author  happened  to  meet  this  war-worn  vet- 
eran, and  as  the  old  hero  recounted  this  incident  of  his  life  with  warm  and  glowing  elo- 
quence, his  eye  kindled,  his  countenance  lighted  up  wirh  pleasure,  and  he  spoke  of  it  witli 
more  apparent  satisfaction  than  he  ever  referred  to  his  most  brilliant  military  achievement. 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  209 

He  assumed  the  responsibility  of  paying  costs  and  damages, 
caused  himself  to  be  made  defendant  in  the  case,  and,  having  ob- 
tained a  rule  on  the  sheriff  to  show  cause  why  the  negroes  should 
not  be  delivered  as  prisoners  of  war  to  him,  as  commander  of  that 
Military  District,  he  appeared  in  person  at  the  bar  of  the  court,  and 
ably  vindicated  the  rights  of  Government,  of  himself,  and  of  the 
prisoners. 

"  The  laws  (said  he)  of  the  United  States  authorize  the  late  and 
**  existing  war  against  the  Seminole  nation  of  Indians,  and  against 
**  all  persons  in  their  service.  The  negroes  claimed  by  the  plaintiff 
"  were  found  in  the  service  of  the  Indians,  speaking  the  same 
*'  language,  and,  like  the  inhabitants  of  all  savage  nations,  aiding 
"  and  assisting  in  the  war.  They  were  captured  and  taken  by  the 
*'  United  States  forces  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  they  are  now  in 
**  charge  of  a  United  States  officer,  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  acting 
**  pursuant  to  the  orders  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
"  directing  him  to  superintend  their  transportation  from  the  theatre 
••  of  war  in  Florida,  to  a  place  set  apart  for  their  location,  west  of 
**  the  State  of  Arkansas,  as  prisoners  of  war,  as  well  as  servants 
**  of  the  Seminole  Indians,  who  are  sXso  prisoners  of  war. 

*'  The  laws  of  war,  as  embraced  in  the  works  of  Brynkershoeck, 
**  Vattel  and  VVheaton,  clearly  sanction  the  principle,  that  all  per- 
*'  sons  taken  in  battle,  or  who  may  be  forced  to  surrender,  whether 
"  officers,  soldiers,  or  followers  of  the  enemy's  army,  are  prisoners 
"  of  war.     *     *     * 

"  Among  savage  nations,  it  is  universally  known  and  admitted, 
"  that  in  war  they  have  no  non  combatants,  excepting  only  such  as 
**  are  physically  incapable  of  wielding  arms.  Every  man,  without 
•'  regard  to  age  or  color;  every  boy  able  to  fire  a  gun,  or  wield  a 
*'  hatchet,  or  an  arrow,  is  a  warrior.  And  every  woman  is  a 
"  laborer,  in  the  collection  and  preparation  of  subsistence  and 
"  clothing  for  the  warriors :  all  are  therefore  liable,  when  captured 
**  in  a  state  of  hostility,  to  be  treated  as  prisoners  of  war.  ^^ 

He  declared  himself  **  lawlessly  taxed  with  this  investigation, 
14 


210 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 


"  and  lawlessly  threatened  with  heavy  damages  and  costs,  and 
"  forced  to  be  defendant,  without  any  legal  or  rational  grounds  of 
'*  action  against  him.  I  am  (said  he)  authorized,  in  virtue  of  my 
**  official  station  as  Major  General,  commanding  the  Western  Divis- 
"  ion  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States  of  America,  to  serve  them 
**  honestly  and  faithfully  against  their  enemies  and  opposers,  whom- 
"  soever,  and  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  President  of  the  United 
*'  States,  etc.  Under  this  official  pledge,  I  deem  it  my  duty  to 
"  afford  every  officer  of  the  army  whatever  facilities  may  be  neces- 
'*  sary  and  proper,  to  enable  them  to  perform  whatever  duty  is 
**  confided  to  them  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  In  pur- 
•*  suance  of  this  authority,  I  ordered  Major  Clark  to  furnish  trans- 
"  portation,  for  enabling  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  and  the  officers  on 
"  duty  with  him,  to  convey  the  prisoners  of  war  to  the  place  of  their 
"  destination  in  the  Western  Country. 

"  But  it  seems  that  the  counsel  for  the  claimant  has  flattered 
*•  himself  that  I  should  make  the  most  convenient  and  accommo- 
**  dating  defendant  imaginable.  I  was  expected  to  take  the  respon- 
'*  sibility  of  doing  whatever  the  voracious  claimant  might  desire, 
"  without  coming  into  this  honorable  court.  I  take  leave  to  apprise 
*'  the  court,  for  the  benefit  of  all  concerned,  that  I  have  never 
"  hesitated  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  doing  my  duty,  or  of 
**  doing  jws^ice;  but  I  have  not  yet  learned,  while  acting  in  my 
'*  official  capacity  on  oath,  to  take  the  responsibility  of  doing  that 
**  which  is  repugnant  to  law,  unjust  and  iniquitous,  as  I  verily 
'*  believe  any  favor  shown  to  this  claim  would  be. 

*•  The  court  appears  to  labor  under  the  impression,  that  the 
*'  negroes  in  question  were  captured  by  the  Seminole  Indians,  in 
*•  the  course  of  their  hostile  incursions  upon  our  frontier  inhabitants. 
**  Is  this  the  fact  ?  I  will  assume,  for  the  learned  counsel  of  the 
"  claimant,  that  he  will  never  have  the  temerity  to  assert  that  they 
'*  are  among  the  number  taken  from  our  frontier  inhabitants  in 
*'  the  present,  or  in  any  foi-mer  war.^^ 

The  gallant  General,  as  well  as  some  other  well  informed  officers, 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  211 

appears  to  have  been  conscious  of  the  real  character  of  these  Exiles^ 
as  will  have  been  noticed  in  his  last  remark,  assuring  the  court, 
that  they  were  never  captured  from  the  white  people  "in  the  pres 
ent,  or  in  any  former  war.^' 

The  ground  which  he  assumed,  that  the  captives  were  prisoners 
of  war,  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  Executive,  was  so  self-evidently 
true  that  it  could  not  be  met  or  overthrown,  by  reason  or  by  argu- 
ment. 

His  honor  the  Judge,  in  delivering  his  opinion  discharging  the 
rule,  disregarded  all  claims  to  right  on  the  part  of  the  Exiles. 
They  being  black,  under  the  laws  of  Louisiana,  were  presumed  to 
be  slaves  to  some  person  ;  and  he  spoke  with  exultation  of  the  fact, 
that  neither  General  Gaines  nor  the  United  States  had  claimed 
them  as  slaves  ;  and  he  declared  it  would  be  infinitely  more  wise 
and  natural  for  the  United  States  to  hold  them  as  lawful  prize  to 
the  captors,  than  it  would  be  to  send  them  with  the  Indians  to  cul- 
tivate their  lands  in  time  of  peace,  and  swell  the  number  of  our 
enemies  in  times  of  war ;  but,  on  this  motion,  he  thought  the  court 
bound  to  regard  the  facts  set  forth  in  the  plaintiff's  claim  as  true, 
and  he  therefore  discharged  the  rule,  and  made  the  order  of  seques- 
tration absolute. 

There  now  appeared  no  hope  of  escape  for  these  people ;  they 
seemed  to  be  the  sport  of  fortune.  For  more  than  a  century  they 
and  their  ancestors  had  set  at  defiance  the  efforts  of  slaveholders, 
assisted  by  Government,  to  reenslave  them ;  but  they  now  appeared 
to  be  within  the  power  of  those  who  were  anxious  to  consign  them 
to  bondage. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  May,  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  having  returned 
to  New  Orleans,  wrote  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  saying, 
"  I  arrived  at  this  place  from  Tampa  Bay  yesterday ;  was  detained 
*'  longer  than  I  expected  to  be,  in  consequence  of  the  absence  of 
"  General  Jessup  from  Fort  Brooke.  Arrangements  are  made  for 
"  the  embarkation  of  the  party  for  '  Fort  Gibson,'  with  the  excep- 
**  tion  of  sixty-seven  of  the  negroes,  who  are  claimed  by  persons 


212  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

**  from  Georgia.  The  civil  authorities,  I  understand,  require  that 
*'  these  negroes  be  not  removed.  It  appears  that  General  Gaines 
"  presented  himself  as  defendant,  and  contended,  that  as  the  negroes 
"  \rere  prisoners  of  war,  the  civil  authority  had  no  right  to  wrost 
**  them  from  the  Government's  hands.  The  court  however  decided 
**  contrary,  acknowledging  the  Indians  alone  as  prisoners,  and  the 
*'  negroes  as  the  property  of  the  Indians.  The  case  will  not  come 
**  on  for  some  time,  and,  deeming  (from  all  that  I  can  learn)  that 
"  the  claim  is  fraudulent,  it  will  be  necessary  that  they  remain." 

Lieutenant  Reynolds  was  delayed  until  the  twenty- first  of  May 
before  he  was  able  to  embark  the  other  prisoners.  One  steamer  left 
on  the  nineteenth ;  and  on  the  twenty-first,  he  wrote  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs,  saying,  "  Thirty-one  of  the  negroes,  out 
**  of  the  sixty-seven,  have  been  selected  by  the  claimants.  These 
"  negroes,  I  am  informed,  do  not  belong  to  the  Indians  on  whom 
'*  the  claims  have  been  made." 

This  opened  up  new  hopes  for  those  to  whom  the  claimants  ad- 
mitted they  had  no  title.  There  is,  however,  something  about  this 
surrender  which  we  are  not  able  to  explain.  It  is  certain  that 
Lieutenant  Reynolds  left  New  Orleans  on  the  twenty-first  of  May 
with  all  the  prisoners,  both  Indians  and  negroes  then  at  that  city, 
except  thirty-one  left  in  charge  of  the  sheriff,  and  seven  Spanish 
maroons,  whom  he  discharged.  The  remaining  thirty-one  were  left 
in  the  charge  of  the  sheriff,  with  the  slave-catching  vultures  watch- 
ing, and  eager  to  fasten  their  talons  upon  them  so  soon  as  opportu- 
nity should  permit.  The  separation  was  painful.  Families  were 
again  severed  :  parents  were  torn  from  their  children,  and  brothers 
and  sisters  compelled  to  bid  adieu  to  each  other ;  and  as  they  could 
see  no  escape  for  those  left  at  New  Orleans,  they  regarded  the  sep- 
aration as  final. 

But  the  other  prisoners  were  on  board.  Lieutenant  Reynolds 
and  other  officers  had  done  what  they  could,  and  they  desired  soon 
as  possible  to  get  the  hapless  Exiles,  who  yet  remained  in  their  pos- 
session, beyond  the  reach  of  slave-hunters  and  slave-catchers.    That 


THE   EXILES   OP   FLORIDA.  213 

mysterious  power,  steam,  was  now  applied ;  and  rapidly  the  vessel 
was  driven  against  the  strong  current  of  the  Mississippi,  as  the  sable 
passengers  cast  their  last,  lingering  look  toward  their  friends  who 
remained  behind,  the  victims  of  a  tyranny — an  oppression — which 
yet  disgraces  the  civilization  of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  The 
Indians  were  also  thoughtful  and  sad,  as  they  cast  their  eyes  back 
towards  their  beloved  Florida,  the  scenes  amidst  which  they  had 
been  bom  and  reared ;  where  they  had  fought ;  where  their  breth- 
ren had  been  slain ;  where  their  fathers  rested  peacefully  in  their 
graves.  Many  bitter  sighs  were  heard,  and  many  tears  fell  from 
the  eyes  of  those  prisoners  as  they  resumed  their  voyage,  for  un- 
known homes  in  the  Western  Country. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

DIFFICULTIES  IN  ENSLAVING  EXILES  CONTINUED. 

Collins,  Agent  for  the  Slave-dealer,  reaches  Fort  Pike  —  Prisoners  gone  — He  repairs  to 
New  Orleans  —  reaches  that  City  one  day  after  the  Exiles  and  Indians  had  left  —  He  fol- 
lows them  up  the  River  —  Whole  number  of  Prisoners  on  the  two  boats  —  They  stop  a 
few  hours  at  Vicksburg  —  Collins  overtakes  them  —  Hands  his  Order  to  Reynolds  —  They 
consult  together  —  Difficulty  in  separating  Indians  from  Negroes  —  They  all  proceed  to- 
gether—  Reynolds  and  Collins  endeavor  to  persuade  Indians  to  deliver  over  Negroes  — 
They  refuse  —  They  reach  Little  Rock  —  Call  on  Governor  Roane  for  military  aid  —  His 
emphatic  Answer  —  They  proceed  to  Fort  Gibson  —  Call  on  General  Arbuckle  to  separate 
them  —  He  refuses  —  Collins  gives  up  all  as  lost  —  His  Letter  to  Commissioner  of  Indian 
A£Eairs 

Collins,  the  a^ent  of  Watson,  left  the  City  of  Washington  on 
the  tenth  of  May  with  full  powers  to  act  for  the  Creek  chiefs  as 
well  as  for  his  principal ;  fully  provided,  also,  with  orders  from  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  directing  all  officers  of  the  United 
States,  in  whose  custody  the  Exiles  might  be,  to  deliver  them  to  this 
agent  of  the  slave-dealer.  Expecting  to  find  his  victims  at  Fort 
Pike,  he  repaired  to  that  place ;  but  on  his  arrival  found  they  had 
left  for  New  Orleans  some  days  previously.  He  forthwith  followed 
them,  and  reached  that  city  on  the  twenty-second  of  June,  being 
one  day  after  Reynolds  and  his  prisoners  had  left  that  city  for  Fort 
Gibson. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  efforts  of  General  Gaines,  and  the 
active  vigilance  of  Major  Clarke  and  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  had 
barely  succeeded  in  getting  these  people  under  way  for  their  west- 
ern homes,  when  the  authority  for  their  reenslavement  arrived. 

(214) 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  215 

Vexed  and  mortified  at  this  disappointment,  Collins  took  passage 
on  the  first  packet  bound  up  the  river,  determined  to  secure  the 
victims  of  Watson's  cupidity  wherever  he  should  find  them. 

While  Collins  was  thus  speeding  his  way  up  the  river,  Reynolds 
and  his  charge,  unconscious  that  the  slave-hunter  was  on  their  track, 
stopped  at  Vicksburg  for  a  few  hours  to  obtain  supplies  for  their 
journey.  While  passing  up  the  river,  Reynolds  wrote  a  report  to 
the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  stating  that  on  the  boat  which 
left  New  Orleans  on  the  nineteenth,  six  hundred  and  seventy-four 
prisoners  had  been  placed  for  emigration  ;  that  on  the  boat  which 
left  the  twenty-first,  on  which  he  had  taken  passage,  there  were  four 
hundred  and  fifty-three — making  in  all  twelve  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  Indians  and  negroes,  who  were  now  emigrating  to  the  Western 
Country.  While  they  were  lying  at  Vicksburg,  Collins  arrived, 
and,  as  he  states,  "  succeeded  in  getting  the  order  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  handed  to  Reynolds."  This  was  un- 
doubtedly correct,  for  Reynolds  wrote  the  Department  the  same  day, 
saying,  "  Since  my  letter  this  morning,  enclosing  an  abstract  of  my 
*'  muster-roll,  Mr.  Collins,  the  attorney,  recognized  by  you,  has 
"  sent  oflf  various  papers,  in  relation  to  certain  claims  for  negroes 
**  taken  by  the  Creek  Volunteers,  and  your  order  has  been  received. 
"  I  have  therefore  made  arrangements  with  Mr.  Collins  to  accom- 
•*  pany  me  to  Little  Rock  on  board  of  my  boat,  that  no  time  may 
**  be  lost  in  the  emigration  on  the  passage  from  here  thither.  Due 
"  care  will  be  had  in  selecting  such  only  as  come  within  your  order, 
"  as  also  to  apprise  the  chiefs  and  other  Indians  with  regard  to  the 
*'  claim.  The  excitement  evinced  at  New  Orleans  on  the  part  of 
"  the  Indians,  convinced  me  of  the  necessity  of  this  measure.  I 
"think  that,  between  this  and  Little  Rock,  I  will  be  enabled  to 
*'  persuade  them  to  consent  without  any  resistance  on  their  part." 

As  stated  in  this  letter,  Mr.  Collins  took  passage  at  Vicksburg 
with  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  and  agreed  to  go  on  with  him  and  his 
prisoners,  until  they  could  persuade  the  Indians  to  separate  from 
their  friends  and  companions,  their  wives  and  children,  or  until  they 


216  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

could  obtain  a  military  force  sufficient  to  compel  the  separation. 
Mr.  Reynolds  says  that  the  excitement  on  the  pai't  of  the  In- 
dians at  New  Orleans,  had  convinced  him  of  the  necessity  of  this 
measure ;  and  the  only  doubt  of  his  perfect  sincerity  rests  on  the 
assertion,  that  he  thought  he  could,  while  on  the  voyage,  induce 
the  Indians  to  consejit  to  such  separation. 

On  the  twenty-seventh,  they  left  Vicksburg  for  Fort  Gibson. 
While  on  their  passage,  they  had  full  opportunity  to  deliberate  and 
consult  together  as  to  the  best  mode  of  carrying  out  the  plan  of  trans- 
forming this  small  portion  of  mankind  into  property;  but  the  universal 
laws  of  Nature  and  of  Nature's  God  appeared  to  conflict  with  this 
slave-dealing  theory.  While  on  the  passage  up  the  river,  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds assembled  the  Indian  chiefs  and  warriors,  and  laid  before  them 
the  facts  concerning  the  claim  of  Watson,  and,  as  he  says,  "  explained 
every  thing  calculated  to  appease  them."  But  the  result  we  give 
in  his  own  words,  expressed  in  a  letter  dated  at  Little  Rock,  Ar- 
kansas, June  second,  being  one  week  after  they  left  Vicksburg,  in 
which  he  says  :  **  They  (the  Indians)  at  once  demurred  :  Micanopy 
**  taking  the  lead,  saying,  it  was  contrary  to  the  express  words  of 
"  General  Jessup,  and  would  listen  to  nothing  calculated  to  dis- 
**  possess  them  of  their  negroes.  Finding  them  thus  determined,  I 
**  prevented  any  communication  with  them  on  the  subject  until 
**  reaching  this  place,  when  they  were  again  called  together,  and  I 
"  repeated  all  that  had  been  mentioned  to  them  before.  I  told  them 
"  it  was  needless  to  object;  my  orders  were  positive,  and  must  be 
**  obeyed.  All  was  of  no  use  ;  they  became,  if  anything,  more 
**  vexed  than  before,  and  left  me  much  exasperatod.  Mr.  Collins 
"witnessed  my  exertions  to  carry  out  your  instructions;  indeed, 
"  sir,  I  have  been  excessively  perplexed  with  these  Indians  and 
**  negroes.  I  see  no  method  in  the  absence  of  force  by  which  pos- 
"  session  of  the  negroes  can  be  had.  The  authorities  here  show  a 
'*  decided  inclination  to  protect  the  Indians,  and  there  is  no  doubt 
**  every  attempt  will  fail  on  our  part.  I  have  in  no  instance  acted 
"  with  duplicity.    The  statements  made,  have  been  as  they  actually 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  217 

**  exist.  Thirty-one  of  the  number  left  at  New  Orleans  are  on  the 
"  official  list  handed  me  by  Mr.  Collins." 

The  whole  party  were  detained  several  days  at  Little  Rock  in 
consequence  of  the  low  stage  of  water.  While  waiting  here,  Col- 
lins appears  to  have  become  impatient,  and  anxious  to  get  possession 
of  the  negroes.  Indeed,  from  the  closing  remark  of  Mr.  Eeynolds's 
letter,  last  quoted,  we  are  led  to  suspect  that  little  sympathy  existed 
between  Reynolds  and  this  agent  of  the  slave-dealer ;  nor  is  it  un- 
likely that  an  officer,  bred  up  in  the  cultivation  of  a  high  and  chiv- 
alrous sense  of  honor,  would  feel  some  repugnance  at  being  con- 
strained to  associate  with  any  man  employed  in  the  business  which 
brought  Collins  to  the  Western  Country.  Knowing,  however,  that 
the  Executive  of  the  United  States  had  become  in  fact  a  party  in 
this  disreputable  transaction,  he  endeavored  to  manifest  at  least  a 
respect  for  those  officers  of  Government  who  had  become  partici- 
pants in  it. 

On  the  third  of  June,  Lieutenant  Reynolds  addressed  an  offi- 
cial letter  to  Samuel  C.  Roane,  Governor  of  Arkansas,  stating  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed.  He  set  forth  the  claim  of 
the  Creeks,  and  their  sale  to  Watson,  together  with  the  ftict  that 
Collins  was  then  at  Little  Rock,  anxious  to  obtain  possession  of  the 
negroes;  that  he  (Reynolds)  could  not  deliver  them  to  Collins 
without  assistance,  and  on  that  account  demanded  of  his  Excellency 
assistance  of  the  civil  authority  to  aid  him  in  carrying  out  the 
policy  of  the  Federal  Government. 

Here  again  the  workings  of  the  human  heart,  and  the  laws  of 
human  nature,  cast  insurmountable  obstacles  in  the  way  of  carrying 
out  the  Executive  designs.  True,  Arkansas  was  a  slave  State,  and 
her  Governor  was  a  slaveholder,  characterized  by  that  bold  and 
generous  nature  which  usually  distinguishes  the  pioneers  of  the 
West ;  but  his  letter  breathes  such  a  spirit  of  independence,  such  a 
bold  and  unhesitating  regard  for  justice  and  propriety,  that  we  pre- 
fer to  let  his  Excellency  speak  for  himself.  The  letter  is  couched 
in  the  following  language  : 


218 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


"ExEcirrivE  Office, 
"  Little  Rock,  June  4th,  1 


**  Sm  :  Your  note  of  this  day  has  been  duly  received,  in  which 
"  you  call  on  me  as  the  Executive  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  to  fur- 
"nish  you  military  force,  sufficient  to  coerce  obedience  to  your  in- 
**  structions  to  surrender  a  number  of  negroes,  now  with  the  Semi- 
**  nole  Indians  under  your  command ;  and  stating  that  the  Indians 
"  manifest  a  hostile  determination  not  to  permit  the  negroes  in  ques- 
**  tion  to  be  surrendered  to  the  agent  or  attorney  of  the  Creek  In- 
"dians.  I  have  also  examined  the  copies  of  the  order  from  the 
**  War  Department,  directed  to  you  on  this  subject,  as  well  as  the 
**  schedule  of  the  negroes  and  letter  of  attorney,  in  the  possession  of 
•*Mr.  N.  F.  Collins,  the  Creek  agent  or  attorney,  to  receive  the 
"  negroes  in  controversy.  After  due  reflection  on  the  subject,  I 
**  have  determined  not  to  afford  you  any  assistance  to  carry  these 
"  instructions  into  effect,  and  respectfully  request  of  you  not  to 
**  attempt  to  turn  over  those  negroes  to  the  claimants  within  the 
**  State  of  Arkansas,  and  more  especially  in  the  neighborhood  of 
**  Little  Rock.  And  Irequire  of  yon  to  proceed  with  your  com- 
"  mand  of  Indians  and  negroes  to  their  place  of  destination  with 
"  the  least  practicable  delay,  that  the  citizens  of  Little  Rock  and  its 
"vicinity  may  be  relieved  from  the  annoyance  of  a  hostile  band  of 
**  Indians  and  savage  negroes. 

**  Without  prejudging  the  claim  of  the  Creek  Indians  to  the 
"  negroes,  from  the  nature  of  things  it  is  wholly  impracticable  for 
*'  the  claimants  to  make  a  proper  designation  of  the  negroes  claimed. 
**  There  are  no  witnesses  here  that  can  identify  the  negroes  —  not 
"  even  the  person  setting  up  the  claim.  And  had  the  Government 
*'  intended  to  dispose  of  those  negroes  to  the  Creek  Indians,  it 
'*  should  have  been  done  in  Florida,  and  not  bring  Indians  and 
'*  negroes  into  Arkansas,  the  vicinity  of  their  future  residence,  and 
*'  then  irritate  the  Indians  to  madness,  and  turn  them  loose  on  our 
"  frontier,  where  we  have  no  adequate  protection  —  the  massacre  of 
**  our  citizens  would  be  the  inevitable  consequence. 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  219 

"I  have  just  visited  the  chiefs  of  your  command,  and  assured 
*'  them  that  their  negroes  should  not  be  taken  from  them,  and  they 
*'  have  pledged  themselves  that  their  people  should  go  on  to  their 
"country  peaceably.  Your  immediate  departure  will  insure  peace 
"  and  avert  the  outrages  you  had  such  good  cause  to  expect. 

"  You  will  transmit  this  note  to  the  proper  Department  at  Wash 
"  ington  as  a  justification  of  the  course  you  may  pursue  in  accord- 
"  ance  with  it. 

"  I  am,  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
"  Jno.  G.  Retnolds,  SAM.  C.  ROANE. 

*'  1st  Lieut.  U.  S.  M.  C,  and  Disb'g  Agent,  Ind.  Dep't." 

This  letter  of  Governor  Roane  certainly  indicated  to  Mr.  Collins 
a  strong  repugnance  to  the  policy  adopted  by  the  War  Department, 
and  must  have  convinced  him  that  his  mission  was,  at  least,  un- 
popular among  men  removed  from  the  moral  atmosphere  in  which 
the  Executive  appeared  to  live.  We  are  not  informed  of  its  effects 
upon  Mr.  Reynolds ;  but  that  gentleman  could  not  have  been  very 
greatly  disappointed,  as  he  had  clearly  predicted  the  failure  of  all 
attempts  to  separate  the  Indians  and  negroes. 

A  rise  in  the  Arkansas  River  enabled  them  to  resume  their  jour- 
ney. They  reached  Fort  Gibson  on  the  twelfth  of  June,  and  both 
Indians  and  negroes  were  turned  over  to  the  care  of  Captain  Ste- 
phenson, the  agent  appointed  to  reside  with  the  Western  Seminoles. 
Here  Mr.  Reynolds  and  Mr.  Collins  expected  to  make  a  final  effort 
to  separate  the  Indians  and  negroes,  in  order  that  the  latter  might 
be  transported  back  to  that  interminable  slavery  which  all  knew 
awaited  their  return  to  Georgia.  For  this  purpose.  Lieutenant 
Reynolds  addressed  Brigadier  General  Arbuckle,  in  command  at 
Fort  Gibson ;  but,  as  the  correspondence  between  these  officers 
brought  the  important  mission  of  Mr.  Collins  in  that  Western 
Country  to  a  close,  we  will  present  these  letters  to  the  reader. 

On  the  twelfth  of  June,  the  day  of  his  arrival,  Lieutenant  Rey- 
nolds addressed  General  Arbuckle  the  following  note  : 


220  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

**  General  :  I  herewith  enclose  orders,  received  from  the  Com- 
"  missioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  for  the  surrender  of  a  certain  number 
"  of  negroes,  belonging  to  the  Seminole  Indians,  to  Mr.  N.  F. 
"  Collins,  the  attorney  appointed  by  the  Creek  Delegation  which 
**  recently  visited  Washington,  which  appointment  has  been  ratified 
"  by  the  Department ;  and  feeling  myself  bound  to  turn  over  all  in 
"  my  possession,  in  obedience  to  such  orders,  and  the  Seminole 
'*  chiefs  and  Indians  re{\ising  positively/  to  give  them  up,  I  have  to 
"  request  the  employment  of  such  a  force,  General,  as  you  may 
**  deem  adequate  for  carrying  into  effect  my  instructions, 

"  I  am,  General,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"J NO.  G.  REYNOLDS, 

"  1st  Lieut.  TJ.  S.  M.  C,  and  Disb-g  Agent,  Ind.  Dept. 
"General  M.  Arbuckle, 

"  Commanding,  etc.,  Fort  Gibson." 

General  Arbuckle  was  in  command  of  the  military  forces  of  the 
United  States  in  that  Western  Country,  and  of  course  felt  great 
responsibility  in  regard  to  maintaining  peaceful  relations  with  the 
Indians  of  that  region.  Having  maturely  reflected  upon  the  com- 
munication of  Mr.  Reynolds,  he  returned  the  following  answer : 

"  Head  Quarters  Western  Department.  Third  Division,  ) 
Fort   Gibson,  June  13th,  1838.  5 

•*  Sir  :  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  12th  instant,  with  the 
"  papers  accompanying  it,  in  which  you  request  me  to  furnish  such 
"  a  force  as  I  deem  adequate,  to  enable  you  to  turn  over  a  number 
**  of  negroes  that  were  captured  by  the  Creek  warriors  in  Florida, 
"  to  Nathaniel  F.  Collins,  their  attorney. 

*•  I  have  given  your  application  much  reflection,  and  have  deter- 
*'  mined  to  decline  a  compliance  therewith  for  the  following  reasons : 

*'  First.  The  difiiculty  and  uncertainty  of  identifying  the  negroes 
*'  actually  captured  by  the  Creek  warriors,  who  are  now  with  their 
*'  former  owners,  and  in  company  with  a  large  number  of  other 
**  Indian  negroes,  and  there  being  no  individual  of  character  present 
"  (as  far  as  I  am  informed)  who  could  with  certainty  designate 


TUE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  221 

**  them.  Secondly.  The  Seminole  chiefs  positively  declare  that 
"  General  Jessup  promised  that  the  negroes  taken  from  them  by 
**  the  Creek  warriors  should  be  returned ;  and  there  is  reason  to 
"  believe  that  such  a  promise  was  made,  other  than  the  declaration 
**  of  the  chiefs. 

"  In  addition  to  the  above,  it  is  proper  that  I  should  state,  that 
**  the  Seminole  chiefs,  at  the  council  I  held  with  them  yesterday, 
"  voluntarily  pledged  themselves  to  give  up  the  negroes  in  question, 
*'  provided  the  President  of  the  United  States  should,  after  being 
**  informed  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  so  decide ;  yet  they  state  that 
*'  many  of  the  negroes  have  died,  and  that  several  are  claimed  to 
**  have  been  captured  that  were  brought  in  by  their  owners  w^hen 
**  they  surrendered. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  very  respectfully, 

'•Your  obedient  servant, 

«'M.   ARBUCKLB, 
"J.  G.  Reynolds,  Brevet  Brigadier  General,  Commanding. 

"1st  Lieut.  U.  S  M.  C,  and  Disb'g  Agent,  Ind.  Dept." 

Collins  now  gave  up  all  as  lost.  He  appears  to  have  realized, 
that  almost  every  officer  of  the  army  west  of  Florida,  had  conspired 
against  this  policy  of  enslaving  the  Exiles,  while  he  himself  seemed 
to  entertain  no  doubt  of  the  honor  and  rectitude  of  his  own  position; 
and  in  order  to  do  him  justice,  and  render  our  narrative  brief  as 
consistent,  we  here  insert  so  much  of  his  report  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs,  drawn  up  after  his  return  to  Alabama,  as  relates 
to  his  mission  up  to  the  time  of  leaving  Fort  Gibson,  on  his  return. 
It  is  as  follows : 

"Tdskoqee,  Alabama,  July  29,  1838- 

**  Sir  :  Immediately  after  my  arrival  (about  the  first  of  this 
"  month),  I  was  taken  sick  with  the  fever,  from  which  I  'am  just 
"  recovering,  which  will  account  for  the  delay  in  communicating 
**  the  result  of  my  mission  to  procure  the  Seminole  negroes  that 
*'  were  to  have  been  turned  over  to  me,  as  agent  of  the  Creek 
"  Indians. 


222  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

**I  left  Washington  on  the  10th  of  May,  and  arrived  in  New 

*  Orleans  on  the  22d,  the  day  after  Lieutenant  Reynolds  had  left 

*  there  with  the  Indians  and  all  the  negroes,  except  thirty-two  that 

*  were  detained  by  the  civil  authority,  at  the  instance  of  Love.    I 

*  did  not  overtake  Reynolds  until  he  arrived  at  Vicksburg,  when, 

*  after  some  exertion,  I  succeeded  in  having  his  order  handed  to 

*  him ;  and  he  came  ashore,  and  suggested  the  probability  of  his 

*  being  able  to  induce  the  Indians  to  consent  to  deliver  the  negroes 

*  willingly  (between  thirty-five  and  forty  of  which,  by  a  comparison 

*  of  our  lists,  we  found  he  had  in  his  possession),  if  I  would  go  on 
'  board  and  proceed  up  the  river  with  him.  This  I  acceded  to,  as 
'  I  was  anxious  to  pursue  such  a  course  as  would  tend,  ever  so 

*  remotely,  to  conciliate  the  Indians,  and  harmonize  with  the  views 

*  of  the  officer  in  charge.     The  experience  of  a  day  or  two  however 

*  proved  that  these  calculations  were  erroneous,  and  I  went  on  to 
'  Little  Rock,  to  get   a  force  to  coerce  their  delivery.     On  our 

*  arrival  there.  Lieutenant  R.  called  upon  the  acting  Governor  of 

*  Arkansas  for  assistance  ;  hut  from  some  cause  or  other  he  refused 

*  it,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  correspondence  forwarded  you  by  Lieu- 

*  tenant  R.  I  then  proceeded  with  the  party  to  Fort  Gibson, 
'  calculating  certainly  on  being  able  to  obtain  the  necessary  assist- 

*  ance  at   that   place.     Lieutenant  R.,  on  arriving  within  three 

*  miles  of  the  fort,  landed  one  of  the  boats,  and  proceeded  with  the 

*  other  (having  all  the  negroes  and  some  Indians)  directly  to  the 
'  fort,  and  made  known  to  General  Arbuckle  the  situation  of  the 

*  affair,  and  presented  him  with  all  the  papers.    He  held  a  lengthy 

*  interview  with  the  Seminole  chiefs,  in  which  the  various  talks 
'  and  promises  of  General  Jessup  were  detailed,  the  number  and 
'  identity  of  the  negroes  denied,  and  the  validity  of  the  whole  trans- 

*  action  questioned,  etc.;   and   hence  the  conclusion,  as  he  had 

*  received  no  order  in  relation  to  the  negroes,  he  should  not  inter- 

*  fere ;    and   directed  Lieutenant  R,  to  land   them  with  the  In- 

*  dians.     First,  however,  to  conclude  the  farce,  he  exacted  from 

*  each  chief  separately  the  promise,  if  the  President  should  decide 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  223 

'*  that  the  negroes  should  he  given  up,  that  they  would  deliver  them 
**  to  him.  This  of  course  they  promised ;  any  explanation  or  re- 
*•  monstrance  urged  by  me  was  unavailing." 


CHAPTER    XVI 


FURTHER  DIFFICULTIES  IN  THE  WORK  OF  ENSLAVING  THE  EXILES. 

General  Gaines  in  person  defends  those  left  at  New  Orleans  —  He  appeals  from  the  judg- 
ment —  Effect  of  appeal  —  Authorities  at  ^Vushingtou  informed  of  difficulties  —  General 
Jessup  retires  from  the  command  —  General  Taylor  succeeds  him  — He  refuses  to  follow 
policy  of  General  Jessup  —  Recognizes  no  prisoners  as  slaves  —  Letter  from  Adjutant 
General  —  He  promptly  refuses  to  have  any  thing  to  do  in  AVatson's  slaye-dealing  transac- 
tion —  This  indignant  answer  is  received  without  reply  by  Department  —  Other  persons 
claim  the  Exiles  detained  at  New  Orleans  —  Commissioner  driven  to  the  necessity  of 
declaring  correct  law  on  the  subject  —  Same  as  that  avowed  by  General  Gaines,  by  Gen- 
eral Taylor,  and  by  Hon.  J.  Q.  Adams  —  Claim  of  Colonel  Humphreys  for  slaves  — 
Jessup's  answer  —  Heynolds  returns  from  Fort  Gibson  to  New  Orleans  —  Collins  reaches 
the  city  same  day  —  Inquires  as  to  the  situation  of  the  thirty-one  Exiles  left  there — Is 
referred  to  Major  Clark  —  Clark's  answer  —  Collins  leaves  city  in  disgust  —  His  Letter  to 
Secretary  of  War  charging  Reynolds  with  misconduct  —  Exiles  remaining  at  New  Orleans 
are  delivered  to  Reynolds  —  Are  sent  to  Fort  Gibson — Join  their  friends  —  All  are  left 
however  without  permanent  homes  or  lands  —  Intention  of  the  Administration  to  compel 
them  to  unite  with  the  Creeks  —  They  refuse  —  Cherokecs  tender  them  lands  —  They 
settle  upon  Cherokee  territory. 

After  the  emigrating  company  of  Indians  and  Exiles  had  left 
New  Orleans,  under  charge  of  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  Gen'l 
Gaines  assumed  upon  himself  the  whole  responsibility  of 
defending  the  thirty-one  who  remained  in  that  city ;  for  as  yet  there 
had  been  no  trial  upon  the  merits  of  the  case,  although  it  was  pretty 
evident  that  the  judge  was  strongly  impressed  in  favor  of  reenslaving 
them.  The  cause  was  duly  brought  to  a  hearing,  and,  after  argument 
and  consideration,  the  court  gave  judgment  in  favor  of  the  claimants. 

This  was  no  more  than  had  been  expected  General  Gaines, 
faithful  to  his  own  convictions  of  justice,  took  an  appeal  to  a  higher 

(224) 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  225 

tribunal ;  and  this  appeal  rendered  it  necessary  for  the  court  to  fix 
a  time  within  which  the  claimants  should  enter  bail  for  costs  and 
damages,  or  the  negroes  would  be  delivered  up  to  General  Gaines 
by  the  sheriff. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Executive  ofiicers  at  Washington  had  be- 
come informed  of  the  difficulties  which  had  lain  across  the  path  of 
Mr.  Collins,  and  felt  it  to  be  desirable  that  the  whole  matter  should 
be  arranged  with  as  little  discussion  as  possible. 

General  Jessup  retired  from  the  command  of  the  army  in  Florida 
on  the  fifteenth  of  May,  and  returned  to  Washington,  leaving  Gen- 
eral Zachary  Taylor  as  commander-in-chief  of  our  military  forces  in 
that  Territory.  He  had  shown  himself  prompt  in  the  execution  of 
all  orders ;  cool,  deliberate,  and  firm  in  battle ;  faithful  to  his  men, 
to  himself  and  his  country ;  but,  up  to  this  time,  he  had  manifested 
no  particular  zeal  in  the  capture  of  negroes.  Indeed,  although  he 
had  penetrated  farther  into  the  Indian  Country  than  any  other  ofiicer 
—  had  fought  the  bloodiest  battles  of  any  commander  in  Florida, 
yet  he  refused  to  draw  any  distinctions  among  his  prisoners.  AVith 
him  Indians  and  negroes  were  equally  prisoners  of  war,  and  en- 
titled to  the  same  treatment.  Nor  would  he  listen  to  men  who 
professed  to  own  the  persons  whom  he  captured,  or  who  had  sur- 
rendered themselves  as  prisoners. 

The  Administration  having  been  a  party  in  the  sale  to  Watson, 
determined  to  carry  out  the  slave-dealing  arrangement  with  him ;  at 
least  so  far  as  regarded  the  thirty-one  negroes  who  yet  remained  in 
New  Orleans.  In  order  to  effect  this  object,  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  have  the  cooperation  and  aid  of  General  Taylor.  The  Ad- 
jutant General,  therefore,  addressed  him  on  the  subject,  enclosing 
to  him  the  letter  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  dated  the 
ninth  of  May,  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  heretofore 
referred  to.  General  Taylor  evidently  thought  the  honor  of  the 
service  would  be  compromited  by  this  slave-dealing  transaction.  He 
subsequently  became  President  of  the  United  States ;  and  as  the 
reader  will  feel  anxious  to  understand  precisely  the  views  which  he 
15 


226  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

entertained,  we  give  that  portion  of  his  letter  to  the  Adjutant  Gren- 
eral  which  relates  to  this  subject.     It  is  in  the  following  words : 

**I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  your  communication  of  the 
**  tenth  of  May,  1838,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  ninth  from  the 
"  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  addressed  to  Captain  Cooper, 
"  Acting  Secretary  of  War,  on  the  subject  of  turning  over  certain 
"  negroes,  captured  by  the  Creek  warriors  in  Florida,  to  a  Mr.  Col- 
"  lins,  their  agent,  in  compliance  with  an  engagement  of  General 


**  I  know  nothing  of  the  negroes  in  question,  nor  of  the  subject, 
**  further  than  what  is  contained  in  the  communication  above  re- 
**  ferred  to ;  but  I  must  state  distinctly  for  the  information  of  all 
"  concerned,  that,  while  I  shall  hold  myself  ever  ready  to  do  the 
'*  utmost  in  my  power  to  yet  the  Indians  and  their  negroes  out  of 
**  Florida^  as  well  as  to  remove  them  to  their  new  homes  west  of 
*^  the  Mississippi,  I  cannot  for  a  moment  consent  to  meddle 
*'  WITH  THIS  TRANSACTION,  or  to  he  Concerned  for  the  benefit  of  Coir 
"  lins,  the  Greek  Indians,  or  any  one  else.^^ 

This  language  was  received  at  the  War  Department  without 
reproof,  although  the  Secretary  was  from  South  Carolina,  bred 
up  in  the  chivalrous  docti-ines  of  the  Palmetto  State.  He  quietly 
Buffered  a  Brigadier  General  thus  plainly  to  express  his  contempt 
for  this  slave-dealing  transaction,  in  which  not  only  the  War  De- 
partment, but  the  President  of  the  United  States,  was  involved. 
He  appears  to  have  been  willing  to  encounter  almost  any  kind  of 
disrespect,  rather  than  call  public  attention  to  the  subject. 

In  the  meantime  other  claims  were  presented  to  the  Department 
for  those  Exiles,  or  portions  of  those,  who  had  been  captured  by 
the  Creeks.^  Gad  Humphreys  filed  with  the  Secretary  of  War  a 
list  of  fortynseven  slaves  who  had  fled  from  him  in  1830,  stating 

(1)  Vide  Letter  of  Major  Isaac  Clark  to  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  St-pt.  18, 1838. 
Ex.  Doc.  225,  3d  Sese.  XXVth  Congress. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  227 

■> 

that  they  had  gone  to  the  Seminoles,  and  that  a  part  of  them  had 
been  sent  to  Fort  Pike. 

Colonel  Humphreys  appeared  to  regard  himself  as  entitled  to 
the  possession  of  those  people  ;  although  by  the  treaty  of  Payne's 
Landing  the  Seminoles  had  paid  for  all  slaves  residing  with  them 
prior  to  1832 ;  and  had  been  released  from  all  further  demands  on 
account  of  such  slaves. 

Colonel  Humphreys  stated  that  his  claim  had  been  examined  by 
the  late  agent,  General  Wiley  Thompson,  and  decided  against  him  ; 
but  insisted  that  the  decision  was  wrong,  and  avowed  his  ability  to 
show  it  erroneous  by  proper  proof  whenever  he  should  have  an  op- 
portunitj",  and  again  demanded  that  the  slaves  should  be  brought 
back  to  Florida,  where  he  could  present  his  proof  without  trouble. 
This  letter  was  inclosed  in  one  directed  to  Mr.  Downing,  Delegate  in 
Congress  from  Florida,  and  by  him  transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  and  by  that  officer  referred  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs. Thus  driven  to  the  wall,  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
came  out  in  plain  and  unmistakable  language,  asserting  the  doc- 
trine, that  the  Government  held  the  power  and  constitutional  right 
to  dispose  of  prisoners  taken  in  war,  whatever  their  character  may 
be.  This  doctrine  had  been  eloquently  sustained  by  General 
Gaines,  on  the  trial  in  New  Orleans.  It  was  the  doctrine  avowed 
by  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
during  the  next  session  of  Congress;  but  it  called  down  upon 
him  much  abuse  in  that  body,  and  in  the  Democratic  papers 
of  the  country.  The  Commissioner's  report  to  the  Secretary  of 
War  set  forth  in  distinct  language,  that  the  claims  of  individuals  to 
slaves  were  precluded  by  the  action  of  the  Government  in  sending 
these  people  West ;  that  they  had  been  captured  by  the  army  and 
disposed  of  by  the  Executive,  and  the  action  of  the  Department 
could  not  be  changed  in  consequence  of  individuals  claiming  them 
as  slaves.  In  short,  he  repeated  the  doctrine  advanced  by  General 
Gaines  at  New  Orleans.  The  report  also  confirmed  the  policy  of 
General  Taylor  in  disregarding  the  claims  of  individuals  to  persons 


228 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


captured  by  the  army,  and  was  a  tacit  condemnation  of  that  pur- 
sued by  General  Jessup,  and  previously  sanctioned  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  War.     This  report  was  passed  over  to  the  Secretary. 

That  officer  (Mr.  Poinsett)  having  received  this  report,  trans- 
mitted it  to  Colonel  Humphreys.  This  drew  from  that  gentleman  a 
still  more  elaborate  argument  in  favor  of  his  claim,  which  occupies 
nearly  four  heavy  pages  in  documentary  form.  This  was  also 
transmitted  to  Mr.  Downing,  and  by  him  passed  over  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War ;  but  we  are  not  informed  whether  the  Secretary  of 
War  replied  to  this  second  argument  or  not. 

It  is,  however,  important  to  the  truth  of  history  to  notice  this 
recognition  of  the  doctrine  by  a  slave-holding  Secretary  of  War, 
that  the  Executive  in  time  of  war  may  separate  slaves  from  their 
masters,  and  send  them  out  of  the  country,  without  regard  to  the 
relation  previously  subsisting  between  them  and  their  owners.  The 
principle  was  thus  recognized  by  Mr.  Poinsett,  although  a  citizen 
of  South  Carolina,  acting  under  the  advice  and  direction  of  Mr. 
Yan  Buren,  a  Democratic  President  of  the  United  States. 

General  Jessup  also,  in  a  report  to  the  War  Department,  declared, 
that,  in  his  opinion,  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing  exonerated  the 
Indians  from  all  claims  for  slaves  which  accrued  prior  to  that  date, 
and  that  Colonel  Humphreys  and  other  claimants  could  only  demand 
a  proportion  of  the  seven  thousand  dollars  allowed  by  the  Indians 
for  slaves  then  residing  among  them.  This  suggestion  was  obvi- 
ously just,  and  was  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  War ;  and  we 
are  naturally  led  to  inquire,  why  the  same  obviously  just  rule  was 
not  applied  to  some  hundreds  of  other  cases  precisely  like  that  of 
Colonel  Humphreys? 

In  the  meantime.  Lieutenant  Reynolds  having  accomplished  his 
mission,  so  far  as  the  emigration  of  the  captives  shipped  on  board 
the  two  boats  which  left  New  Orleans  on  the  nineteenth  and  twen- 
ty-first of  May  were  concerned,  returned  to  that  city  in  order  to 
complete  the  duties  assigned  him  in  regard  to  the  thirty-one  priso- 
ners who  had  been  detained  there  by  legal  sequestration.     Collins, 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 


229 


faithful  to  the  trust  reposed  in  him,  also  returned  to  New  Orleans 
with  the  full  purpose  of  securing  those  people  as  slaves  to  Watson. 
They  reached  the  city  on  the  twenty-third,  and  found  the  slaves  still 
in  the  possession  of  the  Sheriff;  as  the  time  assigned  by  the  court 
within  which  the  plaintiff  was  to  enter  bail  had  not  expired. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  Mr.  Collins  addressed  a  note  to  Mr. 
Reynolds,  inquiring  whether  there  had  been  any  decision  of  the 
court  upon  the  claim  of  Love  to  the  Seminole  negroes  left  at  that 
place ;  and  what  number  he  f  Reynolds)  was  satisfied  belonged  to 
the  Creek  Indians ;  and  demanding  that  such  as  belonged  to  them 
should  be  delivered  to  him,  under  the  order  of  the  Commissioner  of 
"  Indian  Affairs." 

Mr.  Reynolds  replied  that  he  understood  the  case  had  been  dis- 
missed ;  but  as  he  (Reynolds)  was  then  acting  under  a  superior 
officer  (Major  Clark),  he  would  refer  Mr.  Collins  to  him. 

On  the  following  day,  Collins  addressed  Major  Clark  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  but  receiving  no  answer,  and  becoming  vexed  and  disgusted 
with  the  business,  he  left  the  city  on  the  twenty-seventh  for  his 
home  in  Alabama.  In  justice  to  Mr.  Collins,  we  let  him  speak  for 
himself,  and  quote  the  remainder  of  his  report  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs,  being  that  portion  which  relates  to  his  efforts  to 
get  possession  of  these  thirty-one  Exiles.     It  reads  as  follows  : 

**  On  arriving  at  New  Orleans  on  my  return,  I  found  the  repre- 
"  sentativcs  of  Love  had  withdrawn  their  claim  against  those  thirty- 
'*  two  negroes  that  were  left  there,  thirty-one  of  which  Lieutenant  R. 
"  expressed  himself  satisfied  belonged  to  the  claim.  I  addressed  a 
**  note  to  Lieutenant  R.  requesting  that  such  of  the  negroes  as  he 
**  was  satisfied  of  the  identity  might  be  turned  over  to  me  ;  he  in 
"  turn  referred  me  to  Major  Clark  who  was  his  senior  officer,  and 
**  who  had  received  similar  instructions  to  his  own.  I  had,  in  com- 
"  pany  with  Lieutenant  R.  the  day  before,  called  upon  Major  Clark, 
**  and  learned  his  determination  in  relation  to  the  negroes.  He  did 
'*  not  recognize  the  validity  of  his  order,  inasmuch  as  *  By  order 


230  THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA. 

'*  of  the  Secretary  of  War  *  did  not  precede  your  signature,  and 
**  had  even  the  hardihood  to  state,  that,  by  an  examination  of  the 
"  lists,  none  of  those  negroes  in  New  Orleans  were  embraced  in 
"  the  claim  I  presented,  and  subsequently  ordered  Lieutenant  Eey- 
**  nolds  to  send  the  negroes  forthwith  to  Arkansas.  After  I  saw  a 
*'  settled  and  determined  purpose  to  thwart  me  there  as  well  as 
**  elsewhere,  I  left  New  Orleans  on  the  next  day  for  this  place,  and 
*'  since  my  arrival  here,  I  have  learned  by  a  letter  from  Lieutenant 
**  Reynolds,  that  the  negroes  were  sent  off  the  next  day  after  I  left. 
"  Captain  Morrison  I  did  not  see.  Not  perhaps  being  as  fruitful 
"  in  expedients  as  some  others  of  them,  he  stopped  at  Fort  Jack- 
**son,  and  sent  to  New  Orleans  for  transportation  outfit,  etc.,  and 
**  passed  the  city  on  his  way  up,  without  but  few  knowing  who  he 
*'  was,  or  anything  else  in  relation  to  him.  T  learned  indirectly 
"from  Major  Clark,  (who  probably  did  not  intend  this  admission 
"  for  me,)  that  he  had  between  twenty  and  thirty  of  the  negroes  on 
*'  board  belonoring  to  this  claim. 

"  I  am,  sir,  with  the  highest  respect, 

"  Yours,  etc., 
"  C.  A.  Harris,  Esq.,  N.  F.  COLLINS. 

"  Comm'r  Indian  Afifairs,  Washington,  D.  C." 

It  is  most  obvious  that  Collins  believed  that  the  military  officers 
of  Government,  who  were  serving  at  a  distance  from  Washington, 
viewed  his  mission  with  no  particular  favor,  and  he  evidently  retired 
from  New  Orleans  with  some  degree  of  indignation. 

In  the  meantime,  the  claimant  Love,  despairing  of  obtaining  the 
negroes,  refused  to  enter  bail  for  costs  and  damages,  in  case  the 
suit  should  be  determined  against  him  in  the  higher  court,  and  the 
sheriff  delivered  them  over  to  Mr.  Reynolds  on  the  same  day  that 
Collins  left  the  city.  On  the  next  day,  Mr.  Reynolds  wrote  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  saying,  "The  thirty-one  negroes 
**  who  were  arrested,  seized  from  me  and  lodged  in  the  jail  of  this 
"  city,  were  last  evening  surrendered  to  me.  The  Creek  attorney 
*•  (N.  F.  Collins,  Esq.)  nor  any  authorized  agent  being  present, 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  231 

"  and  not  wishing  to  detain  them  at  the  expense  of  the  Government, 
*'  they  were  immediately  embarked  and  dispatched  West,  with 
•'  twenty-five  days'  provisions,  under  the  charge  of  Assistant  Con- 
'*  ductor  Benjamin,  who,  to  satisfy  the  Indians,  had  been  left  with 
"  the  negroes  at  the  period  of  the  service  of  the  process;  of  which 
**  fact  I  informed  the  Department  at  the  time." 

These  thirty-one  prisoners  who  had  been  thus  detained,  were  now 
once  more  under  way  for  their  western  home.  Their  hearts  ap- 
peared to  beat  more  freely  as  the  noble  steamer,  which  bore  them 
on  their  way  to  their  friends  and  future  homes,  cut  loose  from  her 
moorings  and  sped  her  way  toward  her  destined  port.  On  board 
that  happy  craft,  also,  were  many  smiles  and  hearty  congratulations 
exchanged  among  those  children  of  the  forest,  who  had  been  borne 
along  on  the  tide  of  ever-varying  circumstances.  Although  help- 
less and  penniless,  and  apparently  friendless,  they  had  almost 
miraculously  escaped  the  meshes  which  our  Government  and  the 
slave-dealers  had  spread  for  their  destruction.  In  due  time  they 
reached  Fort  Gibson,  and  were  delivered  over  to  the  care  of  the 
proper  agent,  who  conducted  them  to  their  friends.  And  now 
some  nine  hundred  Seminoles,  and  some  three  to  four  hundred 
Exiles,  had  reached  the  Indian  Country ;  they  constituted  the  first 
party  of  that  nation  who,  driven  from  their  homes  —  their  native 
wilds  —  had  consented  to  be  taken  to  a  strange  land. 

They  had  been  assured  by  General  Jessup  and  all  officers  who 
spoke  for  the  Government,  that  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing  was 
to  be  complied  with.  To  enforce  that  treaty  had  been  the  order  of 
General  Jackson.  General  Cass  had  declared  that  the  Indians 
must  comply  loith  that  treaty;  while,  to  our  Indian  agents,  he 
asserted  it  to  be  tlie  policy  of  the  Government  to  unite  the  Creeks 
and  Seminoles  as  one  people. 

But  the  Indians  and  Exiles  were  constantly  assured,  that  they 
were  to  have  a  tract  of  country  set  off  to  their  separate  use ;  and 
when  they  entered  into  the  articles  of  capitulation  with  General 
Jessup,  on  the  eighteenth  of  March,  1837,  that  officer,  on  behalf 


232 


THE   EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


of  the  United  States,  bad  stipulated  to  protect  the  Indians  and 
"  their  allies''  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  lives  and  property. 

But  now  the  turpitude  and  guilt  of  the  Executive  were  revealed. 
The  orders  of  the  agent  directed  him  to  take  them  on  to  the  terri- 
tory assigned  to  the  Creeks.  This  would  subject  them  to  Creek 
jurisdiction  and  Creek  laws ;  and  they  were  perfectly  conscious 
that  every  Exile  would  be  immediately  enslaved.  Yet  there  was 
no  country  which  they  could  call  their  own.  The  perfidious  pre- 
tense of  enforcing  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing,  without  giving 
them  a  separate  territory  according  to  the  supplemental  treaty,  now 
stood  exposed  in  its  proper  light.  Abraham  was  a  man  of  influence 
with  his  brethren.  He  had  used  his  utmost  efforts  to  induce  them 
to  emigrate.  He  had  been  honest.  He  believed  in  the  integrity 
of  our  nation,  of  its  people,  its  government ;  but  his  error  had  been 
fatal.  The  Exiles  were  in  the  Western  Country,  without  a  home, 
and  with  no  means  of  support,  except  the  stipulation  of  Govern- 
ment to  furnish  them  provisions  for  one  year. 

It  was  at  this  time,  when  a  Christian  government  had  violated 
its  faith,  most  solemnly  pledged,  in  order  to  enslave  a  people  who 
for  ages  had  been  free,  that  a  Pagan  government  performed  towards 
the  Exiles  and  Seminoles  the  Christian  duty,  the  hospitality,  of 
furnishing  them  temporary  homes.  The  Cherokees  had  volunteered 
to  exert  their  influence  with  the  Indians  and  Exiles  in  favor  of 
peace.  They  had  induced  many  of  them  to  come  into  the  Ameri- 
can camp  under  flags  of  truce  which  had  been  violated,  and  their 
persons  seized,  held  prisoners,  and  sent  West.  They  had  them- 
selves, apparently,  been  involved  in  this  treachery  practiced  by  our 
Government,  and,  under  these  circumstances,  they  consented  to 
share  their  own  possessions  with  the  Seminoles  and  Exiles  until 
further  arrangements  were  made  ;  they  consented  to  have  the  Semi- 
noles and  Exiles  settle  on  their  land  for  the  present,  until  the  Gov- 
ernment could  be  induced  to  fulfill  its  most  sacred  compacts  with 
these  victims  of  slaveholding  persecutions. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

TOTAL  FAILURE  OF  ALL  EFFORTS  TO  ENSLAVE  THE  EXILES. 

Indians  and  Exiles  complain  —  Government  disregards  their  complaints  —  Further  efforts 
to  enslave  Exiles  —  They  fail  —  General  Arbuckle's  Report  —  Collins  charges  Reynolds 
with  misconduct  —  Reynolds  called  on  to  explain  —  Ilis  reply  and  proofs  —  Collins  de- 
sires claim  to  be  made  against  Creek  Warriors  —  They  refuse  to  notice  it — Political 
feelings  —  Watson  presents  his  claim  to  Congress  —  Resolution  of  that  body  calling  for 
information  —  Answer  —  House  Doc.  225  —  Digression  —  Proceedings  on  claim  before 
Congress  —  Its  final  settlement. 

The  Indians  and  Exiles  who  had  emigrated,  now  found  them- 
1 8Q8  1  ^^^^'^^  separated  at  the  distance  of  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  from  their  brethren  in  Florida,  with  whom  they 
could  hold  no  intercourse.  They  were  without  a  country — without 
permanent  homes — residing  upon  the  lands  of  the  Cherokees,  at 
the  mere  sufferance  of  that  Tribe,  whose  humanity  had  been  awa- 
kened, and  whose  sympathy  had  been  extended  to  them.  Their 
situation  and  discontent  were  duly  communicated  to  the  Executive ; 
but  it  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  of  too  little  importance  to 
receive  attention. 

But  while  the  President  and  the  War  Department  disregarded 
all  complaints  coming  from  the  Seminoles  and  Exiles,  they  relaxed 
no  effort  to  secure  Watson  in  the  possession  of  the  ninety  human 
beings  whom  he  had  purchased  of  the  Creek  Indians,  at  the  request 
of  the  Executive. 

As  the  last  resort,  instructions  were  sent  to  General  Arbuckle, 
commanding  in  the  West,  to  make  investigations,  and   ascertain 

(233) 


234 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


wbat  more  could  be  done  for  the  reenslavement  of  those  people. 
That  officer  replied  to  this  communication  as  follows : 

"Head  Quarters  2d  Department,  Western  Division,  ? 
Furt  Gibson,  Aug.  27tli,  1838.         j 

"  Sir  :  I  had  the  honor,  on  the  22d  instant,  to  receive  your  in- 
*•  structions  of  the  21st  ultimo,  together  with  the  papers  to  which 
**  they  refer.  I  extremely  regret  that  the  United  States  is  liable  to 
**  suffer  loss  in  consequence  of  the  Creek  warriors  having  sold,  and 
"  received  pay,  for  the  negroes  they  captured  from  the  Seminole 
*'  Indians  in  Florida ;  and  these  negroes  having  been  imprudently 
*'  returned  to  the  possession  of  their  former  owners  at  New  Orleans, 
"  and  brought  to  this  place,  with  two  hundred  or  more  other  ne- 
**  groes  belonging  to  the  Seminoles.  Owing  to  these  transactions,  it 
"  would  be  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  identify  at  most 
**  but  few  of  them ;  and  from  the  present  position  of  this  case,  it  is 
"  not  probable  that  one  of  the  negroes  will  be  obtained  except  by 
**  force.  For  further  information  in  relation  to  this  subject,  I  beg 
*'  leave  to  refer  you  to  my  letter  to  Captain  Armstrong,  Acting 
**  Superintendent  of  the  Western  Territory,  of  this  date,  a  copy  of 
"  which  is  herewith  enclosed.  I  shall  do  all  in  my  power  to  pre- 
**  vent  loss  to  the  Government,  and  will  at  an  early  period  have 
*'  the  honor  to  advise  you  of  the  measures  taken  in  the  case. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  with  great  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"xM.  AKBUCKLE,, 
"Hon.  J.  R.  Poinsett,  Brevet  Brig.  GenH,  U.  S.  A. 

"  Secretary  of  War." 

The  letter  to  Captain  Armstrong,  Superintendent  of  the  Western 
Territory,  was  as  follows  : 

"  Head  Quarters  2d  Department,  Western  Division,  ) 
Fo7t  Gibson,  Aug.  27,  1838.  > 

*'  Sir  :  I  received  by  the  last  mail,  from  the  honorable  the  Sec- 
"  retary  of  War,  a  communication  under  date  of  the  21st  ultimo, 
*'  on  the  subject  of  the  negroes  captured  by  the  Creek  warriors, 
**  together  with  a  letter  from  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  iVffairs  to 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  235 

**  the  Secretary  of  War,  under  date  of  the  19th  ultimo,  relating  to 
"  this  subject,  copies  of  which  are  herewith  enclosed.  All  other 
"  papers  or  transactions  in  relation  to  this  matter,  it  is  presumed, 
*•  you  are  apprized  of.  It  will  be  seen  by  the  communication  first 
"  referred  to,  that  it  was  not  known  at  Washington,  at  the  date  of 
"  that  letter,  that  the  Creek  warriors  had  been  paid  for  the  negroes. 
**  That  circumstance,  however  just  to  the  warriors  and  proper,  so 
**  far  as  you  have  had  an  agency  in  the  affair,  will  increase  the 
**  diflBculty  of  obtaining  the  negroes,  as  it  is  believed  the  Creek 
*'  warriors  will  not  now  give  themselves  any  trouble  to  have  the 
"  negroes  delivered  to  the  individuals  to  whom  they  sold  them. 
"  And  notwithstanding  the  pledge  of  the  Seminole  chiefs  to  me,  to 
*'  surrender  the  negroes  in  the  event  the  Government  should  so 
**  require  (after  reconsidering  their  claim  to  them),  I  do  not  be- 
**  lieve  they  will  comply  with  their  promise,  with  the  knowledge 
"  that  the  negroes  are  to  be  taken  from  this  country  as  the  servants 
"  of  a  white  man.  Finally,  as  the  Seminoles  are  greatly  under  the 
"  influence  of  their  negroes,  there  is  scarcely  a  hope  that  the  cap- 
*'  tured  negroes  will  be  surrendered  without  the  application  of  force 
**  (which  is  not  required)  ;  and,  in  that  event,  it  is  not  probable 
**  they  could  be  had,  as  they  would  no  doubt  run  away  the  moment 
**  they  are  informed  a  military  force  is  to  be  employed  to  take  them. 
**  And  in  such  case,  it  is  believed,  they  would  be  assisted,  when 
**  necessary,  by  most  of  the  Seminoles,  and  by  all  the  Seminole  and 
"  Creek  negroes ;  and  if  the  captured  negroes  could  be  placed  in 
"  the  possession  of  the  Creek  agent,  he  would  not  detain  them  a 
**  moment  without  he  had  a  suitable  guard  for  that  purpose.  I 
*'  am  therefore  of  the  opinion,  that  the  best  means  that  can  now  be 
**  resorted  to,  to  prevent  loss  to  the  United  States,  is,  if  possible, 
*'  to  induce  the  Seminoles  to  refund,  from  their  annuity,  the  sum 
"  paid  to  the  Creek  warriors  for  tlie  negroes,  and  the  interest  on 
'•  the  same  until  paid.  I  will  be  much  gratified  if  you  can  visit 
"  this  post  in  six  or  eight  days,  when  the  Seminole  chiefs  can  be 
*'  assembled  here,  with  the  object  of  inducing  them  to  agree  to  the 


236  THE    EXILES    OP    FLOBIDA. 

« 

"  measure  proposed,  or  such  other  as  may  be  deemed  advisable. 
**  In  the  event  that  it  may  not  be  convenient  for  you  to  be  at  this 
**  post  at  an  early  period,  I  request  that  you  will  favor  me  with 
"  your  views  on  the  subject  of  this  communication  by  the  return  of 
"  mail. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  with  much  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  M.  ARBUCKLE, 
"  Capt.  W.  Armstrong,  Brevet  Brig.  Gen'l,  V.  S.  A. 

"Acting  Sup't  W.  Ter.,  Choctaw  Agency." 

This  correspondence  might  well  have  concluded  the  efforts  of  fche 
Executive  to  deliver  these  ninety  Exiles  to  the  slave-dealer.  It 
were  unnecessary  to  say,  that  General  Arbuckle's  labors  in  this  be- 
half proved  useless.  He  had  foretold  such  failure  in  his  letter  to 
the  War  Department.  In  January,  1837,  the  Creek  warriors  cap- 
tured these  people,  and  for  almost  two  years  the  influence  of  the 
Executive  had  been  exerted  to  enslave  them ;  but  a  series  of  inci- 
dents, unequaled  in  real  life,  had  constantly  succeeded  each  other, 
preventing  the  consummation  of  this  intended  crime ;  yet  the  slave 
power  was  inexorable  in  its  demands. 

These  circumstances  failed  to  convince  the  President  that  it  was 
useless  for  the  Executive  of  a  great  nation  to  contend  against  the 
plainest  dictates  of  justice  ;  against  those  convictions  of  right  which 
dwell  in  the  breast  of  every  human  being  who  has  not  extinguished 
the  moral  feelings  of  his  nature. 

Collins  having  returned  to  his  plantation  in  Alabama,  deliberately 
drew  up  and  transmitted  his  report  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs,  which  we  have  heretofore  quoted.  But  when  he  was  sub- 
sequently informed  that  the  thirty-two  Exiles  who  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  Sheriff  at  New  Orleans  had,  on  the  day  of  his  leaving  that 
city,  been  delivered  over  to  Reynolds,  and  sent  West,  his  indigna- 
tion was  further  excited,  and  he  immediately  wrote  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  again  more  distinctly  charging  the  officers 
engaged  in  the  emigration  of  these  people  with  bad  faith.  Ho 
wrote  as  follows ; 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  237 

"  Montgomery,  Alabama,  Aug.  8, 1838. 

*'  Sir  :  Since  writing  you  a  week  since,  I  have  understood  that 

*  Lieutenant  Eeynolds  has  informed  you  that  on  his  arrival  in  New 

*  Orleans  the  negroes  that  were  detained  there  had  been  surren- 

*  dered  to  him,  and  that,  in  consequence  of  my  not  being  there, 

*  they  were  sent  off  to,  etc.     After  seeing  so  much  duplicity  and 

*  management  as  has  been  manifested  by  the  officers  with  whom 
'  I  have  recently  had  intercourse,  particularly  Lieutenant  R.,  I  am 

*  not  surprised  at  the  above  statement.  Lieutenant  E..  is  well 
'  apprised  that  the  negroes  had  been  turned  over  to  him  while  I 
'  was  in  New  Orleans ;  and  it  is  also  susceptible  of  proof  that 

*  during  my  stay  there  arrrangements  were  privately  making  to 

*  charter  a  boat  to  transport  them.     After  I  learned  this,  I  pur- 

*  posely  threw  myself  in  his  way ;  but  he  said  not  a  word  to  me  in 

*  relation  to  the  negroes,  until  I  addressed  him  the  note  which  is 

*  herewith  enclosed.  After  receiving  his  answer,  I,  in  his  presence, 
'  addressed  the  enclosed  copy  to  Major  Clark ;  but  before  I  had 

*  procured  a  messenger  to  carry  it  to  Major  C,  Lieutenant  R., 
'  after  being  a  short  time  absent  from  the  room,  returned,  and  in- 

*  formed  me  he  had  seen  the  Sheriff,  and  he  had  refused  to  turn 

*  over  the  negroes  to  him,  which  rendered,  it,  as  I  conceived,  un- 
'  necessary  to  send  the  note  to  Major  C.  After  my  return  home, 
'  he  wrote  that  (the  next  day  after  I  left  it  seems)  the  Sheriff  rc- 
'  viewed  his  decision,  and  a  second  time  turned  them  over  to  Lieu- 
'  tenant  R. ;  and  as  he  states  in  his  letter  to  me,  that  Major  Clark 
'  ordered  them  to  proceed  forthivith  to  Arkansas.  Why  was  it 
'  necessary,  then,  for  me  to  have  been  there,  since  he  had  yielded 

*  everything  to  his  senior  officer,  and  that  officer  he  knew  had  de- 
'  termined  not  to  respect  the  order  he  had  received,  and  had  de- 

*  termined   (as  his  previous  statement  and   subsequent   conduct 

*  prove)  to  send  them  forthwith  to  Arkansas  ?  It  is  about  such  a 
'  subterfuge  as  the  Sheriff  turning  the  negroes  and  withholding 
4them  after  my  letter  to  Major  C.  was  seen,  and   then    turning 

them  over  again  after  it  was  known  I  had  left.     It  is  due  Lieu- 


238  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

**  tenant  R.  to  observe,  that  he  stated  to  me  the  Sherlflf  had  told 
"  him  a  lie.  I  know  not  what  object  he  could  have  had  in  view  in 
"doing  so. 

"  I  remained  in  New  Orleans  four  days,  in  which  time  I  became 
"  convinced  from  the  maneuvering  that  was  evinced  that  nothing 
"  would  be  gained  by  a  longer  stay,  and  as  the  sickly  season  was 
•'  approaching,  I  left  with  the  conviction  that  the  Sheriff  would  alter 
*'  his  decision  as  soon  as  I  left  there. 

"  I  am,  with  the  highest  respect,  sir, 

"Yours,  etc., 
"  C.  A.  Haeris,  Esq  ,  N.  F.  COLLINS, 

"Commissioner  Indian  Affairs.  Agetit  Creek  Warriors.^' 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  this  agent  of  a  slave-dealer  should  thus 
address,  to  one  of  the  Executive  Departments  of  this  august 
nation,  complaints  against  the  sworn  officers  of  our  Government ; 
but  it  is  still  more  worthy  of  note  that  the  War  Department  should 
call  on  its  authorized  and  sworn  agents  to  respond  to  complaints 
coming  from  such  a  source.  Copies  of  Collins's  two  letters  were 
immediately  enclosed  to  Lieutenant  Reynolds,  accompanied  by  a 
letter  from  Commissioner  Harris,  of  which  we  give  a  copy  : 

"  War  1)ep.\rtme\t,  ) 

Office  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  \ 

August  27,  1837.      ) 

"  Sir  :  I  enclose  copies  of  two  letters  from  N.  F.  Collins,  Esq., 
**  (one  of  the  twenty-ninth  ultimo  and  the  other  of  the  eighteenth 
**  instant,)  in  relation  to  the  negroes  which  you  were  directed  to 
**  turn  over  to  him  as  the  agent  of  the  Creeks.  From  these  papers, 
"  and  from  other  information  received  here,  it  would  seem  there  has 
**  been  great  disregard,  if  not  a  violation,  of  the  orders  of  the  War 
"  Department  in  this  matter.  I  trust  you  will  be  able  to  make 
"  such  explanations  of  your  conduct  as  will  relieve  you  from  cen- 
*'  sure  —  a  prompt  answer  is  desired, 

"It  may  not  be  amiss  to  inform  you  that,  when  on  duty  in  the 
"  Indian  Department,  you  are  bound  to  obey  the  orders  of  no  mili- 
**  tary  officer,  unless  you  have  been  placed  under  his  direction. 


THE    EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  239 

"  Captain  Morrison  is  the  only  army  officer  authorized  to  control 
**  your  movements. 

"  Very,  etc., 
"  Lieut.  J.  G.  Reynolds.  C.  A.  HARRIS,  Commissioner." 

These  intimations  to  Lieutenant  Reynolds  of  censure,  and  the 
distinct  call  for  explanations,  could  bo  neither  misinterpreted  nor 
misunderstood  ;  and,  although  the  complaints  and  charges  had  been 
preferred  not  merely  by  a  man  in  private  life,- but  by  an  individual 
whose  very  employment  as  an  assistant  slave-dealer  had  rendered 
him  odious  and  infamous  among  honorable  men,  yet  this  officer  who 
had  fought  under  the  flag  of  his  country,  and  was  ready  at  any 
moment  to  peril  his  life  in  the  support  of  his  country's  honor,  was 
now  constrained  to  meet  charges  comino;  from  an  infamous  source. 
The  surprise  of  Lieutenant  Reynolds  at  this  procedure  was  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  letter  : 

"  New  Orleans,  Sept.  20, 1838. 

*'  Sir  :  Your  letter,  dated  twenty-seventh  ultimo,  enclosing 
**  copies  of  two  communications  received  at  your  office  from  Mr.  N. 
*'F.  Collins,  the  Creek  attorney,  came  to  hand  on  the  tenth  in- 
**  stant.  I  was  surprised  at  being  called  upon  to  answer  for  '  my 
"conduct'  toward  Mr.  Collins,  as  also  the  Department  for  disre- 
**  garding  its  orders.  Indeed,  sir,  I  have  been,  in  my  own  estima- 
"  tion,  too  faithful  a  servant  in  the  special  department  in  which  it 
**  was  the  pleasure  of  General  Jessup  to  assign,  and  you  to  con- 
**  tinue.  me,  to  make  a  defense  to  the  allegations  advanced  by  Col- 
"lins.  At  the  time  of  Mr.  Collins's  departure  from  this  city,  he 
**  did  not  evince  that  virulence  of  feeling  that  he  has  thought  proper 
'*  to  express  in  his  letter;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  then  apparently 
*'  under  the  full  conviction  that  I  had  done  all  that  was  possible  to 
•*  aid  him.  and  carry  out  the  orders  received  in  relation  to  the 
"  negroes  in  question.  What  object  could  I  possibly  have  in  wish- 
"  ing  clandestinely,  and  in  the  very  face  of  orders,  to  send  those 
"  negroes  to  Arkansas?     Had  Mr.  Collins  been  here,  sir,  so  far  ad 


240  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

**  I  was  concerned,  he  should  have  had  the  negroes  upon  identity. 
*'  I  enclose  papers,  sir,  from  various  gentlemen  to  disprove  the  asser- 
"tion  of  Mr.  Collins,  'that  the  negroes  were  in  mj  possession  du- 
*'  ring  the  time  he  was  here ;'  on  the  contrary,  they  did  not  come 
**  into  my  hands  until  some  time  after  his  departure.  It  is  true,  I 
**  have  frequently  referred  to  Major  Clark  for  advice  in  matters 
"  relative  to  my  official  situation.  It  was  on  account  of  the  high 
"  regard  I  have  of  his  character  as  a  gentleman,  and  an  officer  of 
**  long  standing  and  experience,  and  whose  integrity  stands  pre- 
-eminently and  deservedly  high. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully, 
"  Your  obd't  servant, 

"  JNO.  G.  REYNOLDS, 
"  C.  A.  Harris,  U.  S.  M.  C.  JDiob.  Agent,  Ind.  DepH. 

"  Com.  Ind.  Affairs,  Washington  City,  D.  C. 

We  have  too  little  space  in  this  work  to  copy  official  papers  to 
any  considerable  extent.  Those  which  accompanied  Lieutenant 
Reynolds's  reply  were  — 

First.  A  full  statement  of  facts  from  Sheriff  Buisson,  showing 
that  the  thirty-one  prisoners,  who  had  been  in  his  charge,  were 
not  turned  over  to  Major  Clark  until  the  twenty-eighth  of  June, 
1838. 

Second.  A  full  statement  of  facts  by  George  Whitman,  owner  of 
the  steamboat,  who  contracted  to  carry  the  piisoners  West. 

Third.  A  similar  statement  by  Major  Clark  of  the  facts  that 
came  within  his  knowledge,  accompanied  by  a  copy  of  a  communi- 
cation from  Jno.  C.  Casey,  Acting  Seminole  Agent. 

All  these  statements  showed  that  Lieutenant  Reynolds  had 
strictly  obeyed  his  orders ;  and  whether  they  proved  satisfactory  to 
the  War  Department  or  not,  we  are  unable  to  state.  It  is,  however, 
believed,  that  no  further  proceedings  were  had  in  relation  to  the 
conduct  of  that  officer. 

Mr.  Collins,  finding  that  he  possessed  some  influence  with  the 
War  Department,  on  the  eighteenth  of  October,  wrote  the  Com- 
missioner of  Indian  Affairs,  saying,  "  I  have  now  to  request  that, 


THB   EXILES  OP   FLORIDA. 


241 


"  should  General  Arbuckle  be  unable  to  comply  with  the  instruc- 
"  tions  I  understand  he  has  received,  (which  from  my  knowledge 
**  of  the  Indian  character  I  have  no  doubt  he  will,)  this  claim  may 
'•  be  laid  before  the  agent  who  may  be  appointed  to  investigate  the 
*•  claims  of  the  Creeks  with  the  necessary  documents ;  that  it  may 
"be  examined  and  reported  on  by  him." 

In  answer  to  this  letter,  Mr.  Crawford,  Acting  Commmissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs,  replied,  stating  that  General  Arbuckle  had,  on 
the  twenty-eighth  of  September,  informed  the  Department  that  the 
negroes  could  only  be  obtained  by  military  force.  Mr.  Crawford 
also  assured  Mr.  Colhns  that  General  Arbuckle  had  been  instructed 
to  act  in  concert  with  Captain  Armstrong  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing a  treaty  with  the  Indians  by  which  provisions  for  this  claim 
would  be  made  ;  and  that  the  necessary  papers  had  been  transmit- 
ted to  those  gentleman  to  enable  them  to  act  with  a  correct  under- 
standing of  the  subject. 

But  the  Creek  Indians  appear  to  have  become  impressed  with 
the  opinion,  that  the  whole  proceeding-  was  either  unjust  or  dishon- 
orable, and  they  wholly  refused  to  participate  any  further  in  the 
transaction. 

The  Exiles  and  Indians  were  now  living  on  the  Cherokee  lands. 
The  Creeks  would  have  nothing  further  to  do  with  Watson,  nor  with 
the  United  States,  in  regard  to  the  captured  negroes.  The  Seminole 
Indians  showed  no  disposition  to  surrender  them  to  slavery,  and  the 
Exiles  themselves  exhibited  no  intention  of  going  voluntarily  into 
bondage.  General  Arbuckle  advised  against  the  employment  of  a 
military  force  to  effect  that  object ;  and  to  all  present  appearances 
these  ninety  Exiles  had,  through  a  train  of  mysterious  incidents, 
been  preserved  from  bondage.  The  Florida  War  had  become  un- 
popular ;  and  Watson,  the  purchaser  of  the  supposed  slaves,  had 
warm  personal  friends  among  the  Whigs  of  Georgia.  They  were 
quite  willing  to  subject  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  any  degree  of  odium  in 
their  power.  Watson,  therefore,  sent  his  petition  to  Congress,  ask- 
ing indemnity  for  the  loss  of  slaves  whom  he  had  purchased  of  the 
16 


242  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

Creeks  at  the  instance,  and  by  the  recommendation,  of  the  Execu- 
tive ojfficers  of  Government. 

In  order  to  sustain  the  claim  of  Watson,  it  was  necessary  to 
place  the  facts  attending  this  transaction  before  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. For  this  purpose  a  resolution  was  adopted,  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  January,  1839,  calling  on  the  Secretary  of  War 
for  **  such  information  as  was  to  be  found  in  his  office  touching  the 
**  capture  of  negroes  and  other  property  from  the  hostile  Indians, 
*•  during  the  present  war  in  Florida." 

In  answer  to  this  resolution,  the  Secretary  of  War,  on  the  twen- 
ty-seventh of  February,  made  report,  embracing  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  pages  of  printed  matter.  It  was  numbered  H.  Doc.  225, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed.  From  that  document  much  information 
has  been  obtained  in  regard  to  the  capture  and  emigration  of  this 
first  party  of  Indians  and  Exiles  to  the  Western  Country. 

The  result  of  this  speculation  in  human  flesh  is  so  essential  to  a 
correct  appreciation  of  the  whole  transaction,  that  we  deem  it  proper 
to  give,  in  this  connection,  the  proceedings  of  Congress  upon  that 
subject ;  although  it  may  appear  to  be  rather  a  digression  from  the 
chronological  narration  of  events  which  constitute  the  subject  of 
our  history. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs, 
in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  the  first  of  May,  1838, 
suggests  that  it  might  create  agitation,  were  the  Department  to  ask 
Congress  for  an  appropriation  of  money  to  carry  these  Exiles  to 
Africa,  or  for  any  other  disposition  of  them ;  that,  to  suppress  all 
discussion  in  Congress  upon  the  subject  of  slavery,  gag-resolutions 
and  gag-rules  had  been  adopted  at  each  session  since  1885.  It 
was  under  the  operation  of  these  rules  that  the  advocates  of  slavery 
expected  to  pass  a  bill  to  indemnify  Watson  for  his  loss  in  failing 
to  enslave  these  Exiles. 

During  the  summer  of  1839,  the  document,  No.  225, 

above  referred  to,  was  printed.     According  to  the  practice 

of  that  day,  few,  even  of  the  members  of  Congress,  examined  these 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  243 

documents.  A  copy  of  this,  however,  was  placed  on  file,' with 
Watson's  petition  and  other  papers,  as  evidence  on  which  his  claim 
rested. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  next  session,  the  Author  of  this 
work,  being  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  was  placed 
upon  the  committee  of  Claims ;  at  the  head  of  which  was  Hon. 
David  Russel,  of  Washington  County,  New  York,  a  man  of  great 
industry,  integrity  and  ability ;  always  independent,  according  to 
the  general  views  of  that  day,  and  upright  in  the  discharge  of  ofl&cial 
duties.  Hon.  William  C.  Dawson,  of  Georgia,  was  also  a  member 
of  that  committee,  and  appeared  to  take  much  interest  in  this  claim. 
He  was  a  man  of  much  suavity  of  manner ;  one  of  that  class  of 
Southern  statesmen  who  felt  it  necessary  to  carry  every  measure  by 
the  influence  of  personal  kindness,  and  an  expression  of  horror  at  all 
agitation  of  the  slave  question,  under  the  apprehension  that  it  might 
dissolve  the  Union. 

Mr.  Dawson  was  anxious  to  get  this  claim  of  Watson  through 
Congress,  and,  not  expecting  the  Chairman  of  the  committee  on 
Claims  to  favor  its  passage,  requested  the  Author  to  examine  and 
give  support  to  it.  It  was  that  examination  which  gave  him  the 
first  information  as  to  the  real  cause  of  the  Florida  War.  After  a 
full  and  thorough  investigation,  he  assured  Mr.  Dawson  that  he 
would  be  constrained  to  oppose  the  passage  of  any  bill  giving  in- 
demnity to  Watson.  At  that  time  it  was  the  usual  practice  for  the 
committee  on  Claims  to  leave  all  petitions  asking  pay  for  slaves,  or 
which  involved  the  question  of  slavery,  without  reporting  upon 
them,  lest  they  should  cause  agitation.  There  being  no  prospect 
of  obtaining  from  the  committee  a  favorable  report,  the  case  was  at 
the  next  session  of  Congress  referred  to  the  committee  on  Indian 
Affairs,  who  reported  in  its  favor,  providing  for  the  payment  of  the 
full  sum  which  Watson  gave  the  Creeks,  and  interest  thereon  from 
the  time  of  the  contract  up  to  the  time  of  passing  the  bill. 
lR/11  1  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^  placed  on  the  calendar,  and  in  1841  the 
Author  endeavored  to  call  attention  to  it,  in  a  speech  made 


244  THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

in  tlie  House  of  Representatives  on  the  "  Florida  War."  This  led 
some  members  to  examine  it ;  and  some  of  them,  more  independent 
than  others,  declared  their  hostility  to  its  passage. 

In  the  Twenty-eighth  Congress,  the  Author,  having  become  ob- 
noxious to  the  slaveholders,  was  removed  from  the  committee  on 
Claims,^  and  Watson's  petition  was  again  referred  to  that  commit- 
tee, in  order  that  it  should  receive  the  prestige  of  its  influence ;  but 
it  was  reported  upon  late,  and  was  so  low  on  the  calendar  that  it 
was  not  reached  during  that  Congress. 

18J.»  1        ^^  *^®  Thirty-first  Congress,  Mr.  Daniels,  Chairman  of 
the  committee  on  Claims,  reported  it  in  February.     But 
General  Crowell,  of  Trumbull  County,  Ohio,  being  on  the  commit- 
tee, opposed  its  passage,  and  caused  a  postponement  for  that  session ; 
and  at  the  next  session  it  was,  after  a  short  discussion, 
passed  over  without  any  final  action  upon  it. 
At  the  Thirty-second  Congress,  the  committee  on  Claims  was 
yet  more  favorably  constituted  for  the  slave  interest  —  Mr.  Sacket, 
of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Rantoul,  of  Massachusetts,  being  the  only 

(1)  Hon.  Elisha  Whittlesey,  the  predecessor  of  Mr.  Giddings,  long  and  ably  presided  over 
the  committee  on  Claims.  lie  was  a  man  of  untiring  industry  ;  and  when  he  found  it 
necessary  to  report  on  a  slave  case,  in  1835,  he  wrote  the  Ilegister  of  the  Treasury,  inquir- 
ing if  slaves  had  ever  been  paid  for  by  the  United  States  as  property.  The  reply  stated 
they  had  not;  and  the  committee  reported  adversely  to  the  case,  although  it  was  one  of 
the  strongest  character  possible.  Francis  Larche,  living  near  New  Orleans,  owned  a  horse, 
cart  and  slave.  The  day  before  the  battle  below  that  city,  in  181i,  they  were  impressed  into 
the  service  ;  and  while  thus  held  by  the  United  States  authorities,  on  the  day  of  the  battle, 
the  horse  and  slave  were  killed  by  cannon  shot,  and  Larche  petitioned  Congress  for  compen- 
sation for  the  loss  of  his  slave.  Mr.  Whittlesey  drew  up  an  able  report  refusing  such  com- 
pensation. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Congress,  Mr.  Giddings  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  that  committee ;  but,  being  obnoxious  to  the  advocates  of  slavery,  he  was  removed 
from  that  position  at  the  commencement  of  the  Twenty-eighth  Congress  ;  yet  there  seemed 
to  be  an  impression  that  his  successor  should  be  taken  from  Ohio,  and  Hon.  Joseph  Vance 
was  made  Chairman.  He  was  a  man  at  that  time  somewhat  advanced  in  life,  and  not  ac- 
customed to  legal  investigations.  Cases  which  required  research,  were  usually  consigned 
to  some  subordinate  member  of  the  committee.  It  was  while  he  was  acting  as  Chairman, 
that  this  case  of  Watson  was  first  reported  upon  favorably  by  the  committee  on  Claims, 
although  it  had  never  before  been  regarded  by  that  committee  as  entitled  to  any  encour- 


THE   EXILES   OF  FLORIDA.  245 

two  members  upon  it  who  openly  resisted  the  slave  power.  Mr. 
Edgerton,  of  Ohio,  Mr.  Seymour,  of  Connecticut,  and  Mr.  Curtis, 
of  Pennsylvania,  being  Northern  Democrats,  remained  silent 
during  the  discussion  of  this  claim.  It  was  however  again  reported 
by  the  Chairman,  Mr.  Daniels,  of  North  Carolina,  at  an  early  day, 
and  a  full  determination  to  carry  it  through  was  manifested  by  the 
slaveholders. 

Both  of  the  great  political  parties  were  at  that  time  (1852)  en- 
deavoring to  suppress  all  agitation  of  the  slave  question.  Southern 
men,  particularly,  were  horrified  at  every  appearance  of  discussion 
in  relation  to  the  "  pecculiar  institution  ; "  and  they  hoped  to  pass 
this  bill  without  even  an  examination  of  its  merits  before  the  House. 
But  the  opponents  of  slavery  were  not  idle.  Efforts  were  privately 
made  to  call  attention  of  gentlemen  to  this  claim,  that  they  might 
examine  its  merits  before  it  came  up  for  discussion  ;  and  on  looking 
into  it,  a  number  of  members  prepared  to  oppose  its  passage. 

After  one  or  two  postponements,  it  came  on  for  discus- 
sion on  the  twentieth  of  February,  1852.  Mr.  Sacket, 
of  New  York,  met  the  case  at  once,  in  a  speech  which  showed  that 
he  had  studied  it  very  thoroughly,  and  understood  it  perfectly. 
He  insisted  that  slaves  were  not  plunder,  and  did  not  come  within 
the  contract  of  General  Jessup,  which  gave  to  Creeks  the  "  plun- 
der" they  might  capture.  2d.  That  the  whole  transaction  was  one 
of  speculation  on  the  part  of  Watson,  inasmuch  as  the  report  set 
forth  that  the  negroes  were  worth  at  least  sixty  thousand  dollars, . 
while  he  paid  only  fourteen  thousand  and  six  hundred  dollars  — 
being  less  than  one-fourth  their  value,  evidently  taking  upon  him- 
self all  risk  of  title  and  possession.  3d.  That  the  officers  of  Gov- 
ernment had  no  authority  to  involve  the  nation  in  this  slave-dealing 
transaction.  4th.  That  those  officers  were  not  the  Government, 
and  could  not  bind  the  people  to  pay  their  funds  for  human  flesh. 

Mr.  Abercrombie,  of  Alabama,  was  in  favor  of  the  claim.  He 
declared  that  he  was  in  Forida  at  the  time  of  this  contract,  and 


246  THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA. 

knew  all  about  it,  and  that  it  was  well  understood  that  the  term 
"plunder"  did  include  slaves. 

Mr.  Daniels,  Chairman  of  the  committee,  felt  called  on  by  the 
effort  of  Mr.  Sacket  to  speak  early  in  the  discussion.  He  insisted 
that  General  Jessup,  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  and  Sec- 
retary of  War,  fully  understood  the  case ;  that  it  was  understood 
by  the  parties  that  the  term  ''plunder"  did  include  slaves;  that 
Watson  was  drawn  into  this  matter,  partly,  to  relieve  the  Govern- 
ment from  the  transaction  in  which  it  had  become  involved.  He 
insisted  that  the  negroes  captured  were  slaves  of  the  Seminoles ; 
but  when  inquired  of  on  that  point,  could  only  say,  that  officers 
engaged  in  the  Florida  War  had  spoken  of  them  as  such.  He  was 
much  embarrassed  by  interrogatories  propounded  to  him  by  Mr. 
Stanton,  of  Ohio,  and  other  gentlemen. 

Mr.  Mace,  of  Indiana,  a  Democrat,  took  a  short  and  comprehen- 
sive view  of  the  case.  He,  nor  any  other  man  could  tell  whether 
these  negroes  were  slaves  or  freemen.  On  the  part  of  the  officers 
of  Government,  there  was  not  a  single  impulse  of  humanity  mani- 
fested in  regard  to  these  people ;  but  all  their  endeavors  were  put 
forth  to  enslave  them.     He  was  entirely  opposed  to  the  bill. 

Hon.  John  W.  Howe,  of  Pennsylvania,  would  never  give  his 
vote  in  favor  of  regarding  men,  and  women,  and  children,  as  plun- 
der. He  commented  with  much  force  upon  the  contract,  and  the 
documentary  evidence  before  the  House,  and  would  maintain  the 
humanity  of  all  prisoner  captured  in  war.  He  sustained  the  posi- 
tion of  General  Gaines,  that  they  were  prisoners  of  war. 

On  the  tenth  of  March  the  bill  came  up  again  for  consideration, 
when  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  advocated  its  passage  in  a  very 
elaborate  speech.  He  differed  from  Mr.  Sacket,  Mr.  Howe,  and 
those  who  opposed  the  bill,  mostly  upon  the  great  question — insist- 
ing that  slaves  were  property  under  our  Federal  Constitution  ;  that 
the  people  captured  by  the  Creek  Indians  were  not  possessed  of 
any  rights ;  that  they  were  to  be  regarded  as  mere  chattels :  in- 
deed, this  point  lay  at  the  foundation  of  the  entire  discussion.     He 


THB  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  247 

however  sought  to  add  strength  to  the  claim  by  reading  letters  from 
Mr.  Crawford,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  from  Mr.  Poin- 
sett, Secretary  of  War,  to  show  that  they  sympathized  with  the 
slave-dealer,  and  were  desirous  that  this  bill  should  pass. 

Mr.  Welch,  of  Ohio,  in  few  words,  declared  his  conviction  that 
these  negroes  were  prisoners  of  war,  to  be  treated  as  such,  and  not 
to  be  regarded  as  slaves  or  chattels. 

Mr.  Evans,  of  Maryland,  thought  it  diflBcult  to  understand  the 
case,  but  would  adopt  the  views  of  Judge  Iverson,  of  Georgia;  that 
gentleman  had  been  a  member  of  the  House-  of  Representatives, 
and  his  statements  could  be  relied  upon.  He  read  a  long  affidavit 
showing  the  recollections  of  Mr.  Iverson,  and,  as  the  United  States 
had  the  property  in  possession,  he  would  vote  for  the  bill. 

Mr.  Stuart,  of  Michigan,  now  a  Democratic  Senator,  thought  the 
Government  had  been  in  great  difficulty  in  getting  these  Seminoles 
to  go  West ;  they  would  not  go  without  the  negroes,  many  of  whom 
had  intermarried  with  the  Seminoles.  By  the  treaty  which  General 
Jessup  made,  in  1837,  our  Government  was  bound  to  send  the 
negroes  West,  and  having  done  so,  was  bound  to  pay  Watson  for 
his  loss. 

Mr.  Skelton,  of  New  Jersey,  a  Democrat,  recognized  no  power 
in  this  or  any  other  government  to  treat  prisoners  of  war  as  slaves. 
The  discussion  had  become  interesting,  and,  in  some  degree,  consti- 
tuted an  agitation  of  the  slave  question ;  and  as  the  committee  rose 
without  taking  a  vote  upon  the  bill,  Mr.  Orr,  of  South  Carolina, 
moved  a  resolution  precluding  further  debate  upon  it ;  but  the 
House  adjourned  without  taking  a  vote  on  the  resolution. 

The  case  came  up  again  on  the  tenth  of  April,  when  a  resolution 
to  close  debate  in  one  hour  was  adopted.  The  House  then  resolved 
itself  in  committee ;  and  Mr.  Bartlett,  of  Vermont,  a  Democrat, 
took  the  position  that  the  Government,  nor  its  officers,  had  power 
to  enter  into  any  agreement  with  Indians  or  white  men,  by  which 
they  should  enjoy  any  privilege,  or  receive  any  compensation,  not 
authorized  by  law ;  that  the  contract  between  General  Jessup  and 


248  THE   EXILES  OP   FLORIDA. 

the  Creeks  was  of  no  validity,  but  absolutely  void ;  and  every 
transaction  touching  the  enslavement  of  the  Exiles  was  without  au- 
thority, and  of  no  effect. 

Mr.  Walsh,  of  Maryland,  insisted  that  the  Indian  tribes  were 
not  nations,  and  ought  not  to  be  treated  as  such ;  that  it  was  not 
incumbent  on  the  friends  of  the  bill  to  show  that  slavery  existed 
among  the  Seminoles ;  if  they  lived  within  a  slave  State,  they  might 
hold  slaves;  that  the  Government  had  the  right  to  enslave  the 
negroes  when  captured. 

Mr.  Sweetzer,  of  Ohio,  Democrat,  denied  the  authority  of  Gen- 
eral Jessup  to  make  any  contract  for  the  services  of  the  Creek 
warriors  other  than  the  law  had  provided;  nor  could  he  have 
authority  to  make  any  stipulation  as  to  the  disposal  of  prisoners 
when  captured. 

Mr.  Southerland,  of  New  York,  a  Whig,  thought  the  question  of 
slavery  was  not  necessarily  involved  in  this  case  ;  that  the  United 
States,  having  sent  the  negroes  West,  were  bound  to  indemnify 
Watson  for  his  loss. 

Mr.  Daniels,  by  the  rules  of  the  House,  had  one  hour  to  reply, 
after  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  closing  debate.  He  attempted 
to  reply  to  some  of  the  arguments  offered  against  the  bill,  but  ad- 
vanced no  new  position.  At  the  expiration  of  his  speech  the  vote 
was  taken,  and  the  bill  reported  to  the  House  as  agreed  to  in  com- 
mittee. The  previous  question  was  then  called,  and  under  its 
operation  the  bill  passed  —  seventy-nine  members  voting  in  favor 
of  its  passage,  and  fifty-three  against  it. 

One  member  from  the  slave  States,  Williamson  R.  W.  Cobb,  of 
Alabama,  voted  against  the  bill.  All  the  other  members  from  the 
slave  States  voted  for  it ;  and  were  aided  by  the  votes  of  members 
from  the  free  States,  as  follows : 

From  New  Hampshire:  Harry  Hibbard — 1. 

Massachusetts:  Wm.  Appleton,  Zeno  Scudder — 2. 

New  York:  Abram  M.  Schemmerhorn,  James  Brooks,  Gilbert 
Dean,  F.  S.  Martin,  Abram  P.  Stevens,  Joseph  Southerland — 6. 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  249 

Connecticut:  Collins  M.  IngersoU — 1 

New.  Jersey :  R.  M.  Price — 1. 

Pennsylvania :  Joseph  R,  Chandler,  Thomas  Florence,  Joseph 
H.  Kuhns,  Joseph  McNair,  Andrew  Packer,  John  Bobbins, 
Thomas  Ross — 7. 

Ohio:  JohnL   Taylor— 1. 

Indiana:  Sam'l  W.  Parker,  Richard  W.  Thompson — 2. 

Michigan:  E.  S.  Penniman,  Charles  E.  Stuart — 2. 

Iowa:  Lincoln  Clark,  Bernard  Iknn — 2. 

California:  Joseph  W.  McCorkle — 1.  In  all  the  free  States 
twenty-five. 

The  vote  against  the  bill  was  given  by  the  following  members, 
from  the  free  States  : 

From  Maine:  E.  K.  Smart,  Israel  Washburn,  jr. — 2. 

New  Hampshire :  Jared  Perkins,  Amos  Tuck — 2. 

Jfassachusetts :  Orrin  Fowler,  Z.  Goodrich,  Horace  Mann — 3. 

New  York :  Henry  Bennet,  George  Briggs,  John  G.  Floyd, 
Timothy  Jenkins,  Daniel  F.  Jones,  Preston  King,  William  Mur- 
ray, Joseph  Russel,  Wm.  A.  Sacket,  W.  W.  Snow,  Hiram  S.  Wall- 
bridge,  John  Wells— 12. 

New  Jersey:  Charles  Skelton,  N.  T.  Stratton — 2. 
Vermont:  Thomas  W.  Bartlett,  James  Meacham — 2. 

Connecticut:  Charles  Chapman — 1. 

Pennsylvania:  James  Allison,  John  L.  Dawson,  James  Gam- 
ble, Galusha  A.  Grow,  John  W.  Howe,  Thomas  M.  Howe,  Milo 
M.  Dimmick,  Thaddeus  Stevens — 8. 

Ohio:  Nelson  Barrere,  Joseph  Cable,  Alfred  P.  Edgerton,  J. 
M.  Gaylord,  Alex.  Harper,  Wm.  F.  Hunter,  John  Johnson,  Eben 
Newton,  Edson  B.  Olds,  Charles  Sweetzer — 10. 

Indiana :  Samuel  Brenton,  John  G.  Davis,  Graham  N.  Fitch, 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  Daniel  Mace — 5. 

Illinois:  Wyllis  Allen,  R.  S.  Molony— 2. 
Wisconsin:   James  D.  Doty,  Solomon  Durkee,  Ben.  C.  Easfc- 
man — 3. 


250  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA 

These  fifty-two  members,  with  Mr.  Cobb,  of  Alabama,  made  up 
the  entire  opposition  to  the  bill  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
In  the  Senate  there  was  very  little  opposition  to  its  passage ;  and 
after  thirteen  years,  the  people  of  the  United  States  paid  for  the 
slaves  whom  Watson  bought  on  speculation,  but  of  whom  he  failed 
to  obtain  possession.  The  Northern  advocates  of  the  bill  justified 
their  support  of  it  more  generally  upon  the  principle,  that  our 
officers  sent  the  negroes  West,  and  thereby  rendered  it  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  for  Watson  to  obtain  possession  of  them ;  and  they 
insisted  that,  in  refunding  to  Watson  his  money,  they  did  not  pay 
him  for  human  flesh,  but  for  the  money  he  had  paid  out  at  the  in- 
stance of  federal  officers.  This  vote  closed  the  controversy  in 
regard  to  General  Jessup's  contract,  to  give  the  Creek  warriors 
such  plunder  as  they  might  capture  from  the  enemy. 


CHAPTER   XYIII. 

FURTHER  DIFFICULTIES  IN  PROSECUTING  THE  WAR. 

Emigrants  under  Captain  Morrison  —  Feeling  among  the  Regular  Troops  —  They  detest  the 
practice  of  catching  Negroes  —  Another  party  Emigrate  —  Still  further  Emigration  — 
Situation  of  the  Exiles  —Deep  depravity  of  the  Administration  —  General  McComb's 
Treaty  —  His  general  order  —  Peace  cheers  the  Nation  —  Citizens  of  Florida  return  to 
their  homes  —  Administration  congratulates  its  friends  —  More  murders  perpetrated  — 
Planters  flee  to  Tillages  for  protection  —  Massacre  of  Colonel  Harney's  party  —  Indians 
seized  at  Fort  Mellon  —  Exiles  refuse  to  participate  in  these  massacres  —  They  would 
make  no  Treaty  —  Administration  paralyzed  —  Report  of  Secretary  of  War  —  Its  charac- 
ter—Barbarous sentiments  of  Governor  Reid  —  Resolution  of  Legislature  of  Florida  in 
favor  of  employing  blood-hounds  —  Original  object  in  obtaining  them  —  The  effort  proves 
a  failure  —  General  Taylor  retires  from  command  of  Army  —  Is  succeeded  by  General 
Armistead. 

We  now  resume  our  chronological  narration  of  events  connected 
with  the  Exiles  of  Florida,  during  the  year  1838. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  Captain  Morrison  arrived  at  New 
Orleans  from  Tampa  Bay  in  charge  of  some  three  hundred  Indians 
and  thirty  negroes,  on  their  way  to  the  West ;  he  having  been 
assigned  to  that  particular  duty.  These  Indians  and  Exiles  had 
most  of  them  come  to  Fort  Jupiter  by  advice  of  the  Cherokees, 
and  surrendered  under  the  capitulation  of  March,  1837.  At  the 
time  they  reached  New  Orleans,  Lieutenant  Reynolds  was  absent 
with  his  first  emigrating  party ;  and  the  thirty-one  negroes  left  at 
New  Orleans  wore  at  that  time  in  the  hands  of  the  Sheriff.  Cap- 
tain Morrison  felt  it  his  duty  to  hasten  the  emigration  of  those 
whom  he  had  in  charge,  and  on  the  sixteenth,  he  left  that  city  with 

(251) 


252   •  THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA. 

his  prisoners  for  the  Indian  Country  without  waiting  the  return  of 
Lieutenant  Reynolds.  On  reaching  Fort  Gibson,  he  delivered  them 
over  to  the  officer  acting  as  Seminole  Agent  for  the  Western  Country, 
and  they  soon  rejoined  their  friends  who  were  located  on  the  Chero- 
kee lands. 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  state,  that,  in  several  of  our  recent 
chapters,  we  have  quoted  from  official  documents  pretty  freely,  for 
the  reason  that  many  living  statesmen,  as  well  as  many  who  have 
passed  to  their  final  rest,  were  deeply  involved  in  those  transac- 
tions, and  we  desired  to  make  them  speak  for  themselves  as  far  as 
the  documents  would  enable  us  to  do  so.  But  as  we  have  narrated 
most  of  the  scenes  involving  individuals  in  transactions  of  such  deep 
moral  turpitude,  we  hope  to  be  more  brief  in  our  future  history. 

When  General  Taylor  assumed  the  command  of  the  army,  there 
was  a  feeling  of  deep  disgust  prevalent  among  the  regular  troops 
at  the  practice  of  seizing  and  enslaving  the  Exiles. 

W^e  have  already  noticed  the  fact,  that  the  citizens  of  Florida 
supposed  the  war  to  have  been  commenced  principally  to  enable 
them  to  get  possession  of  negroes  whom  they  might  enslave.  Indeed, 
they  appear  not  to  have  regarded  it  as  material,  that  the  claimant 
should  have  previously  owned  the  negro.  If  they  once  obtained 
control  of  his  person,  he  was  hurried  into  the  interior  of  Georgia, 
Alabama,  or  South  Carolina,  where  he  was  sold  and  held  as  a  slave. 
And  the  Florida  volunteers,  while  nominally  in  service,  appear  to 
have  been  far  more  anxious  to  catch  negroes  than  to  meet  the  ene- 
my in  battle. 

This  feeing  was  so  general  among  the  people  and  troops  of  Flori- 
da, that  General  Call,  Governor  of  the  Territory,  recommended  to 
the  Secretary  of  War  that  military  expeditions  should  be  fitted  out 
for  the  purpose  of  going  into  the  Indian  Country,  in  order  to  cap- 
ture negroes,  who,  when  captured,  should  be  sold,  and  the  avails 
of  such  sales  applied  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  this  feeling  would  lead  the  regular  troops  to 
entertain  great  contempt  for  the  volunteers  of  Florida ;  and  a  cor- 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  253 

responding  feeling  of  hostility  would  arise  on  the  part  of  such 
volunteers  toward  the  regular  troops. 

These  feelings  operated  upon  President  Jackson  in  ordering  the 
withdrawal  of  General  Scott;  and  General  Jessup  sought  to  ap- 
pease this  hostility  by  obeying  the  dictates  of  the  slave  power. 
Indeed,  whatever  appears  like  a  violation  of  pledged  faith,  or 
bears  the  evidence  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  General  Jessup,  may 
probably  with  great  justice  be  attributed  to  the  popular  sentiment 
of  the  Territory.  He  had  assiduously  captured,  and  delivered 
over  to  bondage,  hundreds  of  persons  whom  he  had  most  solemnly 
covenanted  to  ''protect  in  their  persons  and  property. ^^ 

General  Taylor  discarded  this  entire  policy.  His  first  efforts 
were  to  make  the  Indians  and  Exiles  understand  that  he  sought 
their  emigration  to  the  Western  Country,  for  the  advancement  of 
their  own  interest  and  happiness.  Owing  to  these  circumstances 
there  was  scarcely  any  blood  shed  in  Florida  while  he  had  command. 
The  army  was  no  longer  employed  to  hunt  and  to  chase  down  women 
and  children,  who  had  been  reared  in  freedom  among  the  hom mocks 
and  everglades  of  that  Territory. 

There  were  yet  remaining  several  small  bands  of  Indians  upon 
the  Appalachicola  River,  and  in  its  vicinity.  Most  of  the  Exiles 
who  had  a  few  years  previously  resided  with  these  bands,  had  been 
captured  by  pirates  from  Georgia,  and  taken  to  the  interior  of  that 
State  and  sold,  as  the  reader  has  been  already  informed.  Those  of 
E-con-chattimico's  and  of  Blunt's  and  of  Walker's  bands  were  nearly 
all  kidnapped;  but  of  the  number  of  Exiles  who  remained  with 
the  other  remnants  of  Indian  Tribes,  resident  upon  the  Appalachi- 
cola River,  we  have  no  reliable  information.  We  are  left  in  doubt 
on  this  point,  as  General  Taylor  drew  no  distinctions  among  his 
prisoners ;  he  neither  constituted  himself  nor  his  officers  a  tri- 
bunal for  examining  the  complexion  or  the  pedigree  of  his  cap- 
tives. He  denied  the  right  of  any  citizen  to  inspect  the  people 
captured  by  the  array  under'  his  command,  or  to  interfere  in  any 
way  with  the  disposal  of  his  prisoners.     He  repaired  to  the  Apala- 


254  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

chee  towns  with  a  small  force  about  the  first  of  October.  Neither 
the  Indians  nor  Exiles  made  any  resistance  ;  nor  did  they  oppose 
emigration.  They  readily  embarked  for  New  Orleans  on  their  way 
westward.  Their  emigration  was  not  delayed  in  order  to  give 
planters  an  opportunity  to  examine  the  negroes.  Under  the 
general  term  of  '*  Apalachees,"  two  hundred  and  twenty. persons 
were  quietly  emigrated  to  the  Western  Country ;  but,  as  we  have 
already  stated,  how  many  of  them  were  negroes,  we  have  no  infor- 
mation. These  people  were  also  delivered  over  to  the  agent,  acting 
for  the  Western  Indians,  and  settled  with  their  brethren  upon  the 
Cherokee  lands. 

General  Taylor  now  entered  upon  a  new  system  for  prosecuting 
the  war,  by  establishing  posts  and  manning  them,  and  by  assigning 
to  each  a  particular  district  of  country,  over  which  their  scouts  and 
patroles  were  to  extend  their  daily  reconnoisances. 

Small  parties  of  Indians  and  negroes  occasionally  came  in  at  dif- 
ferent posts,  and  surrendered  under  the  articles  of  capitulation  of  ^ 
March,  1837;  and,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  February,  one 
hundred  and  ninety-six  Indians  and  negroes  were  embarked 
at  Tampa  Bay  for  the  Western  Conntry.  But  the  proportion  of 
negroes,  compared  with  the  whole  number,  is  not  stated  in  any 
official  report.  General  Taylor,  in  his  communications,  speaks 
of  them  as  prisoners,  and  occasionally  uses  the  terms  "Indians 
and  negroes." 

Thus,  in  less  than  a  year.  General  Taylor  shipped  more  than  four 
hundred  prisoners  for  the  Western  Country  without  bloodshed. 
These  prisoners  were  also  delivered  over  to  the  Indian  Agent  of 
the  Western  Country,  and  immediately  reunited  with  their  brethren 
already  located  on  the  Cherokee  lands.  There  were,  at  that  time, 
a  colony  of  more  than  sixteen  hundred  of  these  people  living  upon 
the  territory  assigned  to  the  Cherokees.  They  were  without  homes, 
or  a  country  of  their  own  :  whereas  the  Government  had  constantly 
held  out  to  them  the  assurance  that,  if  they  emigrated  West,  they 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  255 

should   have  a  country  assigned   to  their  separate  use,  on  which 
they  could  repose  in  safety. 

At  this  point  in  our  history,  Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration 
exhibited  its  deepest  depravity.  Since  the  ratification  of  the  sup- 
plemental treaty  of  1833,  the  Executive,  through  all  its  oflBcers, 
had  insured  the  Indians  and  Exiles  that  they  should  enjoy  its  full 
benefits,  by  having  a  territory  set  off  to  their  separate  use,  where 
they  could  live  independent  of  Creek  laws.  Under  these  assurances 
they  had  received  the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation,  that  they  should 
be  protected  by  the  United  States  in  their  persons  and  property. 

With  these  pledges,  and  with  these  expectations,  a  weak  and 
friendless  people  had  emigrated  to  that  western  region  ;  and  when 
thus  separated  from  their  friends  and  country,  with  the  slave-catch- 
ing vultures  of  the  Creek  Nation  watching  and  intending  to  make 
them  their  future  victims,  the  President  deliberately  refused  to  abide 
by  either  the  treaty  or  the  articles  of  capitulation.  He  left  them 
unprotected,  without  homes,  and  without  a  country  which  they  could 
call  their  own.  True,  many  of  them  had  been  betrayed,  treacher- 
erously  seized  and  compelled  to  emigrate  ;  but  this  was  done  in 
violation  of  the  existing  treaty  and  pledged  faith  of  the  nation, 
which  they  were  constantly  assured  should  be  faithfully  observed ; 
and  these  circumstances  enhanced  the  guilt  of  those  who  wielded^ 
the  Executive  power  to  oppress  them. 

Major  General  McComb  arrived  in  Florida  (May  20)  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  a  new  treaty  with  the  Seminoles  upon  the  basis 
of  permitting  them  to  remain  in  their  native  land.  The  war  had 
been  waged  with  the  intent  and  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  the 
Indians  to  emigrate  West  and  settle  with  the  Creeks,  and  become 
subject  to  the  Creek  laws.  It  had  continued  three  years  at  a  vast 
expenditure  of  treasure  and  of  national  reputation.  Many  valuable 
lives  had  also  been  sacrificed  ;  and,  although  some  two  thousand 
Indians  and  Exiles  had  emigrated  West,  not  one  Exile  had  settled 
in  the  Creek  Country,  or  become  subject  to  Creek  laws.  Some 
hundreds  had  been  enslaved  and  sold  in  Florida,  Georgia,  Alabama 


256  THE    EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

and  South  Carolina ;  but  a  remnant  of  that  people,  numbering  some 
hundreds,  yet  maintained  their  liberties  against  all  the  machina- 
tions and  efforts  of  Government  to  reenslave  thera.^ 

The  vast  expenditure  of  national  treasure  had  called  forth  severe 
animadversion  in  Congress  ;  while  the  entire  policy  of  the  slave 
power  forbid  all  explanation  of  the  real  cause  of  this  war,  and  of 
the  objects  for  which  its  prosecution  was  continued. 

Thus,  while  the  nation  was  involved  in  a  most  expensive  and  dis- 
astrous contest  for  the  benefit  of  slavery,  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives had  adopted  resolutions  for  suppressing  all  discussion  and  all 
agitation  of  questions  relating  to  that  institution. 

General  Scott,  a  veteran  ofi&cer  of  our  army,  had  exhausted  his 
utmost  science  ;  had  put  forth  all  his  efforts  to  conquer  this  indomi- 
table people ;  or  rather  to  subdue  the  love  of  liberty,  the  independ- 
ence of  thought  and  of  feeling,  which  stimulated  them  to  effort ; 
but  he  had  failed.  The  power  of  our  army,  aided  by  deception, 
fraud  and  perfidy,  had  been  tried  in  vain.  General  Jessup,  the 
most  successful  ofiicer  who  had  commanded  in  Florida,  had  advised 
peace  upon  the  precise  terms  which  the  allies  demanded  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war;  and  General  McComb,  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  army  of  the  United  States,  was  now  commissioned  to 
negotiate  peace  on  those  terms.  But  the  first  difiiculty  was  to 
obtain  a  hearing  with  the  chiefs  who  remained  in  Florida,  in  order 
to  enter  upon  negotiations  touching  a  pacification.  To  effect 
this  object,  recourse  was  had  to  a  negro,  one  of  the  Exiles  who 
knew  General  Taylor,  and  in  whom  General  Taylor  confided.  At 
the  request  of  General  McComb,  this  man  was  dispatched  with  a 
friendly  message  to  several  chiefs,  requesting  them  to  come  into  the 
American  Camp  for  the  purpose  of  negotiation.  His  mission 
proved  successful.  A  Council  of  several  chiefs,  and  some  forty 
head  men  and  warriors,  was  convened  at  Fort  King,  on  the  sixteenth 

(1)  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  real  number  of  Exiles  was  unknown  to  General  Jack- 
on,  or  to  General  Cass,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war.  They  appear  to  have  regarded 
their  number  far  less  than  it  was  estimated,  during  the  first  Seminole  War  of  1818. 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  257 

of  May,  1839,  and  the  terms  of  peace  agreed  upon  ;  but  no  treaty 
appears  to  have  been  drawn  up  in  form.  On  the  eighteenth  of 
May,  General  McComb,  at  Fort  King,  his  head-quarters,  issued  the 
following  general  orders : 

"Head  Quarters  of  the  Army  op  the  Umted  States,  ) 
Fort  King,  Ftoriia,  May  18,  1839.      j 

"  The  Major  General,  commanding  in  chief,  has  the  satisfaction 
'  of  announcing  to  the  army  in  Florida,  to  the  authorities  of  the 
'  Territory,  and  to  the  citizens  generally,  that  he  has  this  day  ter- 
'  minated   the  war  with   the  Seminole  Indians   by  an  agreement 

*  entered  into  with  Chitto-Tustenuggee,  principal  chief  of  the  Sem- 

*  inoles  and  successor  to  Arpeika,  commonly  called    Sam.  Jones, 

*  brought  to  this  post  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Harney,  2d  Dragoons, 

*  from  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula.  The  terms  of  the 
'agreement  are  —  that  hostilities  immediately  cease  between  the 

*  parties ;  that  the  troops  of  the  United  States  and  the  Serai- 
'  nole  and  Mickasukie  chiefs  and  warriors,  now  at  a  distance,  be 
'  made  acquainted  with  the  fact,  that  peace  exists,  and  that  all  hos- 

*  tilities  are  forthwith  to  cease  on  both  sides  —  the  Seminoles  and 

*  Mickasukies  agreeing  to  retire  into  a  district  of  country  in  Flori- 

*  da,  below  Pease  Creek,  the  boundaries  of  which  are  as  follows : 

*  viz,  beginning  at  the  most  southern  point  of  land  between  Char- 

*  lotte  Harbor  and  the  Sanybel  or  Cooloosahatchee  River,  opposite 

*  to  Sanybel  Island  ;  thence  into  Charlotte  Harbor  by  the  southern 
'  pass  between  Pine  Island  and  that  point  along  the  eastern  shore 

*  of  said  harbor  to  Toalkchopko  or  Pease  Creek ;  thence  up  said 
'  creek  to  its  source  ;  thence  easterly  to  the  northern  point  of  Lake 

*  Istokopoga  ;  thence  along  the  eastern  outlet  of  said  lake,  called 
'  Istokopoga  Creek,  to  the  Kissimee  River ;  thence  southerly  down 
'  the  Kissimee  to  Lake  Okeechobee ;  thence  south  through  said 
'  lake  to   Ecahlahatohee  or  Shark  River ;  thenee  down  said  river 

*  westwardly  to  its  mouth  ;  thence  along  the  seashore  northwardly 
'  to  the  place  of  beginning ;   that  sixty  days  be  allowed   the  In- 

*  dians,  north  and  east  of  that  boundary,  to  remove  their  families 

17 


258  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

"  and  effects  into  said  district,  where  they  are  to  remain  until  further 
**  arrangements  are  made  under  the  protection  of  the  troops  of  the 
"  United  States,  who  are  to  see  that  they  are  not  molested  by  in- 
**  truders,  citizens  or  foreigners  ;  and  that  said  Indians  do  not  pass 
"  the  limits  assigned  them,  except  to  visit  the  posts,  which  will  be 
**  hereafter  indicated  to  them.  All  persons  are,  therefore,  forbid- 
"  den  to  enter  the  district  assigned  to  the  Indians  without  written 
"  permission  of  some  commanding  ofl&cer  of  a  military  post. 

«»  By  command  of  the  General :  "  ALEX  AND  ER  McCOMB, 

]\Iajor  General  Commanding. 
"Kdmond  Shriveb, 

"  Captain  and  A.  A.  General." 

The  country  now  again  rejoiced  at  what  the  people  regarded  as 
the  restoration  of  peace.  By  the  terms  agreed  upon,  the  Indians 
retained  as  large  a  territory  in  proportion  to  the  number  left  in 
Florida  as  was  held  by  them  at  the  commencement  of  the  war. 

The  people  of  Florida  had  originally  petitioned  General  Jackson 
for  the  forcible  removal  of  the  Indians,  because  they  would  not 
seize  and  bring  in  their  fugitive  slaves.  They  had  protested  against 
peace  upon  any  terms  that  should  leave  the  negroes,  whom  they 
claimed,  in  the  Indian  Country.  These  citizens  of  Florida  had 
long  since  been  driven  from  their  homes  and  firesides  by  the  enemy 
whom  they  so  much  despised ;  and  they  now  desired  peace.  The 
Indians  and  Exiles  were  also  anxious  to  cultivate  corn  and  potatoes 
for  the  coming  winter,  and  were  glad  to  be  able  to  do  so  in  peace. 

Thus,  the  people  of  Florida,  as  they  supposed,  in  perfect  safety, 
returned  to  their  plantations,  and  resumed  their  former  habits  of 
life.  And  the  political  party  in  possession  of  the  Government, 
congratulated  themselves  and  the  country  upon  the  fortunate  con- 
clusion of  a  war  which  had  involved  them  in  difiiculties  that  were 
inexplicable. 

But  this  quiet  continued  for  a  short  time  only.  Early  in  July, 
travelers  and  express-riders  were  killed  by  small  parties  of  Indians; 
plantations  were  attacked  and  the  occupants  murdered ;  buildings 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 


259 


burned  and  crops  destroyed ;  families  fled  from  their  homes,  leaving 
all  their  property,  in  order  to  assemble  in  villages  in  such  numbers 
as  to  insure  safety  to  their  persons;  and  the  Florida  War  again 
raged  with  accumulated  horrors.  As  an  illustration  of  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  carried  on,  we  quote  the  following : 

"Assistant  Adjutant  General's  Office,  Army  of  the  South,  ? 
Fort  Brooke,  East  Florida,  July  29,  1839.  3 

"  Sir  :  It  becomes  my  painful  duty  to  inform  you  of  the  assas- 
"  sination  of  the  greater  part  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Harney's 
**  detachment,  by  the  Indians,  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  instant, 
*•  on  the  Coloosahatchee  River,  where  they  had  gone,  in  accordance 
**  with  the  treaty  at  Fort  King,  to  establish  a  trading-house.  The 
"  party  consisted  of  about  twenty-eight  men,  armed  with  Colt's 
"rifles;  they  were  encamped  on  the  river,  hut  unprotected  hy 
'*  defenses  of  miy  hind,  and,  it  is  said,  without  sentinels.  The 
**  Indians,  in  large  force,  made  the  attack  before  the  dawn  of  day, 
**  and  before  reveille ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  thirteen  of  the  men 
**  were  killed,  among  whom  were  Major  Dalham  and  Mr.  Morgan, 
**  sutlers.  The  remainder,  with  Colonel  Harney,  escaped,  sev- 
**  eral  of  them  severely  wounded.  It  was  a  complete  surprise. 
**  The  Commanding  General,  therefore,  directs  that  you  instantly 
**  take  measures  to  place  the  defenses  at  Fort  Mellon  in  the  most 
"  complete  state  of  repair,  and  be  ready  at  all  times  to  repel  attack, 
"  should  one  be  made.  No  portion  of  your  command  will,  in 
**  future,  be  suffered  to  leave  the  garrison  except  under  a  strong 
**  escort.  The  detachment  will  be  immediately  withdrawn.  Should 
"  Fort  Mellon  prove  unhealthy,  and  the  surgeon  recommend  its 
**  abandonment,  you  are  authorized  to  transfer  the  garrison,  and 
"  reinforce  some  of  the  neighboring  posts. 

"I  am,  Sir,  GEO.  H.  GRIFFIN, 

«  Lieutenant  W.  K.  Hanson,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

"  Commanding  at  Fort  Mellon." 

The  Indians  killed  ten  men  belonging  to  the  military  service, 
and  eight  citizens,  employed  by  the  sutlers ;  while  Colonel  Harney 


260  THE   EXILES   OF    FLOKIDA. 

and  fourteen  others  escaped.  The  Indians  obtained  fourteen  rifles, 
six  carbines,  some  three  or  four  kegs  of  powder,  and  about  three 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  goods. 

Lieutenant  Hanson,  commanding  at  Fort  Mellon,  on  receiving 
the  order  which  we  have  quoted,  seized  some  thirty  Indians  at  that 
time  visiting  Fort  Mellon,  and  sent  them  immediately  to  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina ;  whence  they  were  embarked  for  the  Indian 
Country,  west  of  Arkansas,  where  they  joined  their  brethren,  who 
still  resided  upon  the  Cherokee  Territory. 

In  these  transactions,  the  Exiles  who  remained  in  Florida 
appear  to  have  taken  no  part,  at  least  so  far  as  we  are  informed. 
They  labored  to  obtain  the  treaty  of  peace ;  but  such  was  the 
treachery  with  which  they  had  been  treated,  that  they  would  not 
subject  themselves  to  the  power  of  the  white  people,  and  were  not 
of  course  present  at  the  treaty  ;  nor  were  they  recognized  by  Gen- 
eral McComb  as  a  party  to  the  treaty,  or  in  any  way  interested  in 
its  provisions.  Indeed,  we  are  led  to  believe  that  General  McComb 
adopted  the  policy  on  which  General  Taylor  usually  practiced,  of 
'recognizing  no  distinctions  among  priso»ers  or  enemies. 

The  Administration  appeared  to  be  paralyzed  under  this  new 
demonstration  of  the  power  and  madness  of  the  Seminoles.  At  the 
commencement  of  the  war,  some  officers  had  estimated  the  whole 
number  of  Seminoles  at  fifteen  hundred,  and  the  negroes  as  low  as 
four  hundred.  They  had  now  sent  some  two  thousand  Indians  and 
negroes  to  the  Western  Country ;  and  yet  those  left  in  Florida, 
renewed  the  war  with  all  the  savage  barbarity  which  had  character- 
ized the  Seminoles  in  the  days  of  their  greatest  power.  Indeed, 
they  exhibited  no  signs  of  humiliation. 

The  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Poinsett,  a  South  Carolinian,  proba- 
bly exerted  more  influence  with  the  President  in  regard  to  this  war 
than  any  other  officer  of  Government.  His  predecessor,  General 
Cass,  had  treated  the  Exiles  as  mere  chattels,  having  "no  rights.*' 
He  had  advised  the  employment  of  Creek  Indians,  giving  them 
such  negroes  as  they  might  capture ;  he  had  officially  approved  the 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  261 

contract  made  with  them  by  General  Jessup.  After  he  left  the 
oflfice,  his  successor,  Mr.  Poinsett,  approved  the  order  purchasing 
some  ninety  of  them  on  account  of  Government.  He  had  advised 
Watson  to  purchase  them ;  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  consign 
them  to  slavery  in  Georgia.  He  was,  however,  constrained  to  make 
an  official  report  upon  the  state  of  this  war,  at  the  opening  of  the 
first  session  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Congress,  which  assembled  on  the 
first  Monday  of  December,  1839. 

That  report,  when  considered  in  connection  with  the  events  which 
gave  character  to  the  Florida  War,  constitutes  a  most  extraordinary 
paper.  Notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  which  he  had  encoun- 
tered in  his  efforts  to  enslave  the  Exiles,  to  prevent  at  least  ninety 
of  them  from  going  West,  and  the  complaints  of  the  Seminoles  who 
had  emigrated  to  the  Western  Country,  at  finding  themselves  des- 
titute of  homes  and  of  territory  on  which  to  settle,  he  made  no 
allusion  to  their  troubles ;  nor  did  he  give  any  intimation  of  the 
difficulties  arising  on  account  of  the  Exiles ;  nor  did  he  even  inti- 
mate that  such  a  class  of  people  existed  in  Florida. 

He  declared  the  result  of  General  McComb's  negotiation 
had  been  the  loss  of  many  valuable  lives.  **  Our  people 
"  (said  he)  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  confidence  in  the  good  faith  and 
"  promises  of  the  Indians,  and  were  entrapped  and  murdered  with 
"  al'  the  circumstances  of  cruelty  and  treachery  which  distinguish 
*'  Indian  warfare.  *  *  *  The  experience  of  the  last  summer 
**  brings  with  it  the  painful  conviction,  that  the  war  must  be  prose- 
*'  cuted  until  Florida  is  freed  from  these  ruthless  savages.  Their 
**  late  cruel  and  treacherous  conduct  is  too  well  known  to  require  a 
"  repetition  of  the  revolting  recital ;  it  has  been  such  as  is  calcula- 
**  ted  to  deprive  them  of  the  sympathy  of  the  humane,  and  convince 
"  the  most  peaceable  of  the  necessity  of  suhduing  them  hy  force. ^^ 

It  appeared  necessary  to  raise  the  cry  of  treachery  and  cruelty 
against  the  Indians  and  Exiles.  They  had  no  friend  who  was 
acquainted  with  the  facts,  that  could  call  attention  of  the  nation 
to  the  treachery  which  had  been  practiced  on  them  by  the  order, 


262  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

and  witb  the  approval,  of  the  Secretary  of  War.  No  man  was  aWe 
to  say  how  many  fathers  and  mothers  and  children  were,  by  the 
influence  of  that  officer,  consigned  to  a  fate  far  more  cruel  than  that 
which  awaited  the  men,  under  Colonel  Harney,  at  Coloosahatchee. 

In  his  report  the  Secretary  most  truly  remarked  :  "If  the  In- 
"  dians  of  Florida  had  a  country  to  retire  to,  they  would  have  been 
**  driven  out  of  the  Territory  long  ago ;  but  they  are  hemmed  in 
**  by  the  sea,  and  must  defend  themselves  to  the  uttermost,  or  sur- 
"  render  to  be  transported  beyond  it."  And  he  might  well  have 
added  :  When  they  shall  he  thus  transported,  they  will  have  no 
country  —  no  home.  Indeed,  the  whole  report  shows  that  he  relied 
on  physical  force  to  effect  an  extermination  of  the  Indians  and  their 
allies ;  he  looked  not  to  justice,  nor  to  the  power  of  truth,  for  carry- 
ing out  the  desio-ns  of  the  Executive. 

Men  in  power  appear  to  forget  that  justice  sits  enthroned  above 
all  human  greatness ;  that  it  is  omnipotent,  and  will  execute  its 
appropriate  work  upon  mankind.  Thus,  while  the  people  of  Florida 
and  Georgia  had  provoked  the  war,  by  kidnapping  and  enslaving 
colored  men  and  women,  to  whom  they  had  no  more  claim  than 
they  had  to  the  people  of  England ;  while  they  had  sent  their  peti- 
tion to  General  Jackson,  asking  him  to  compel  the  Indians  to  seize 
and  bring  in  their  negroes,  and  had  protested  against  the  peace 
negotiated  by  General  Jessup,  in  1837;  —  Mr.  Reid,  Governot  of 
Florida,  in  an  official  Message  to  the  Territorial  Legislature,  in 
December,  1839,  used  language  so  characteristic  of  those  who  sup- 
ported the  Florida  War,  that  we  feel  it  just  to  him  and  his  coadju- 
tors to  give  the  following  extract : 

•'  The  efforts  of  the  General  and  Territorial  Governments  to  quell 
"  the  Indian  disturbances  which  have  prevailed  through  four  long 
*'  years,  have  been  unavailing,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  prophecy 
**  of  the  most  sagacious  leader  of  the  Indians  will  be  more  than 
*  •  fulfilled ;  the  close  of  the  fifth  year  will  still  find  us  struggling  in 
**  a  contest  remarkable  for  magnanimity,  forbearance  and  credulity 
*'  on  the  one  side,  and  ferocity  and  bad  faith  on  the  other.     We 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  203 

**  are  waging  a  war  with  beasts  of  prey ;  the  tactics  that  belong  to 
**  civilized  nations  are  but  shackles  and  fetters  in  its  prosecution; 
**  we  must  fight  '  fire  with  fire ; '  the  white  man  must,  in  a  great 
**  measure,  adopt  the  mode  of  warfare  pursued  by  the  red  man,  and 
**  we  can  only  hope  for  success  by  continually  harrassing  and  pur- 
"  suing  the  enemy.  If  we  drive  him  from  hommock  to  hommock, 
**  from  swamp  to  swamp,  and  penetrate  the  recesses  where  his 
"  women  and  children  are ;  if,  in  self-defense,  we  show  as  little 
*'  mercy  to  him  as  he  has  shown  to  us,  the  anxiety  and  surprise 
**  produced  by  such  operations  will  not  fail,  it  is  believed,  to  pro- 
*'  duce  prosperous  results.  It  is  high  time  that  sickly  sentimen- 
"  tality  should  cease.  *  Lo,  the  poor  Indian  ! '  is  the  exclamation 
"  of  the  fanatic,  pseudo-philanthropist ;  *  Lo,  the  poor  white  man  ! ' 
*'  is  the  ejaculation  which  all  will  utter  who  have  witnessed  the 
*'  inhuman  butchery  of  women  and  children,  and  the  massacres  that 
"  have  drenched  the  Territory  in  blood. 

"  In  the  future  prosecution  of  the  war.  It  is  important  that  a 
*'  generous  confidence  should  be  reposed  in  the  General  Govern- 
*'  ment.  It  may  be  that  mistakes  and  errors  have  been  committed 
**  on  all  hands;  but  the  peculiar  adaptation  of  the  country  to  the 
"  cowardly  system  of  the  foe,  and  its  inaptitude  to  the  operations 
**  of  a  regular  army  ;  the  varying  and  often  contradictory  views  and 
**  opinions  of  the  best  informed  of  our  citizens,  and  the  embarrass- 
**  ments  which  these  cases  must  have  produced  to  the  authorities  at 
**  Washington,  furnish  to  the  impartial  mind  some  excuse,  at  least, 
"  for  the  failures  which  have  hitherto  occurred.  It  is  our  duty  to 
"  be  less  mindful  of  the  past  than  the  future.  Convinced  that  the 
'*  present  incumbent  of  the  Presidential  Chair  regards  with  sincere 
"  and  intense  interest  the  afflictions  we  endure  ;  relying  upon  the 
•*  patriotism,  talent  and  sound  judgment  of  the  distinguished  Caro- 
**  linian  who  presides  over  the  Department  of  War,  and  confident 
••  in  the  wisdom  of  Congress,  let  us  prepare  to  second,  with  every 
'*  nerve,  the  measures  which  may  be  devised  for  our  relief.  Feel- 
"  ing  as  we  do  the  immediate  pressure  of  circumstances,  let  us  exert, 


•264  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

"  to  the  extremest  point,  all  our  powers  to  rid  us  of  the  evil  by 
"  which  we  are  oppressed.  Let  us,  by  a  conciliatory  course,  en- 
*'  deavor  to  allay  any  unkindnesses  of  feeling  which  may  exist 
*'  between  the  United  States  army  and  the  militia  of  Florida,  and 
"  by  union  of  sentiment  among  ourselves,  advance  the  happy  period 
"  when  the  Territory  shall  enjoy  what  she  so  much  needs  —  a  long 
"  season  of  peace  and  tranquillity." 

Perhaps  no  vice  is  more  general  among  mankind  than  a  desire  to 
represent  ourselves,  and  our  country  and  government,  to  mankind 
and  to  posterity  as  just  and  wise,  whatever  real  truth  may  dictate. 
Surely,  if  General  Jessup's  official  reports  be  regarded  as  correct, 
the  people  of  Florida  should  have  been  the  last  of  all  who  were 
concerned  in  that  war,  to  claim  the  virtue  of  magnanimity  or  for- 
bearance, or  to  charge  the  Seminoles  or  Exiles  with  ferocity  or  bad 
faith.  The  expression  that  *'  it  is  high  time  that  sickly  sentimen- 
tcdity  should  cease, ^^  manifests  the  ideas  which  he  entertained  of 
strict,  equal  and  impartial  justice  to  all  men. 

This  Message  was  an  appropriate  introduction  to  the  legislative 
action  which  immediately  succeeded  its  publication.  It  was  that 
legislative  body  which  first  gave  official  sanction  to  the  policy  of 
obtaining  blood-hounds  from  Cuba  to  aid  our  troops  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  this  war.  Of  this  atrocious  and  barbarous  policy  much  has 
been  said  and  written,  and  its  authorship  charged  upon  various  men 
and  officers  of  Government.  At  the  time  of  the  transaction,  it  was 
represented  that  the  blood-hounds  were  obtained  for  the  purpose  of 
trailing  the  Indians,  and  historians  have  so  stated  ;  ^  but  for  various 
reasons,  we  are  constrained  to  believe  they  were  obtained  for  the 
purpose  of  trailing  negroes.  It  was  well  known  that  these  animals 
were  trained  to  pursue  negroes,  and  only  negroes.  They  would  no 
more  follow  the  track  of  a  white  man  than  they  would  that  of  a  horse 
or  an  ox.  It  was  the  peculiar  scent  of  the  negro  that  they  had 
been  trained  and  accustomed  to  follow.  No  man  concerned  in 
obtaining  these  animals,  could  have  been  ignorant  that  they  had,  in 

(1)  Captain  Spra^ae's  History  of  the  Florida  War  so  represents  the  subject. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  265 

all  probability,  never  seen  an  Indian,  or  smelt  the  track  of  any  son 
of  the  forest. 

Every  slaveholder  well  understood  the  habits  of  those  ferocious 
dogs,  and  the  manner  of  training  them,  and  could  not  have  sup- 
posed them  capable  of  being  rendered  useful  in  capturing  Indians. 
The  people  of  Florida  appear  to  have  been  stimulated  in  the  com- 
mencement and  continuance  of  this  war  solely  by  a  desire  to  obtain 
slaves,  rather  than  to  Jight  Indians  ;  and  while  acting  as  militia  or 
as  individuals,  they  were  far  more  efficient  in  capturing  negroes  and 
claiming  those  captured  by  other  troops  than  in  facing  them  on  the 
field  of  battle.  Nor  can  we  resist  the  conviction,  that  catching 
negroes  constituted,  in  the  mind  of  General  Jessup,  the  object  for 
which  those  animals  were  to  be  obtained.  Such  was  evidently  his 
purpose  when  he  wrote  Colonel  Harney,  as  quoted  in  a  former  chap- 
ter, *'If  you  see  Powell  (Osceola),  tell  him  that  I  intend  to  send 
"  exploring  ^nd  surveying  parties  into  every  part  of  the  country 
'*  during  the  summer ;  and  that  I  shall  send  out  and  take  all  the 
"  negroes  who  belong  to  white  people,  and  he  must  not  allow  the 
*'  Indians  or  Indian  negroes  to  mix  with  them.  Tell  him  I  am 
*'  sending  to  Cuba  for  blood-hounds  to  trail  them,  and  I  intend  to 
**hang  every  one  of  them  who  does  not  come  in." 

We  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact,  that  General  Jessup  in- 
tended the  blood- hounds  to  be  used  in  catching  *'  the  negroes  belong- 
ing to  the  white  people,"  as  he  said.  Those  white  people  were 
mostly  slaveholders  of  Florida ;  those  who  proposed  in  the  legisla- 
tive assembly  of  that  territory  the  obtaining  of  the  animals,  and 
adopted  a  resolution  authorizing  their  purchase.  They  did  not 
wait  for  the  President  to  act,  nor  for  the  "  Secretary  of  War," 
whom  the  Governor  of  Florida  characterized  as  *'  that  distinguished 
Carolinian "  on  whose  judgment  and  patriotism  the  people  of 
Florida  so  much  relied.^ 

By  resolution,  Colonel  Fitzpatrick  was  "  authorized  to  proceed 

\\)  Not  having  the  Statutes  of  Florida  before  us,  we  make  this  statement  on  the  author- 
ity of  Captain  Sprague. 


266  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

"  to  Havana,  and  procure  a  kennel  of  blood-hounds,  noted  for 
**  tracking  and  pursuing  negroes."  He  was  fortunate  in  his  mis- 
sion. He  not  only  obtained  the  animals,  but  he  accomplished  the 
journey,  and  reached  St.  Augustine  as  early  as  the  sixth  of  Janu- 
ary, 1840,  with  a  reinforcement  for  the  army  of  the  United  States 
of  thirty-three  blood-hounds  well  trained  to  the  work  of  catching 
negroes.  They  cost  precisely  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  dollars 
seventy-two  cents,  each,  when  landed  in  Florida.  He  also  pro- 
cured five  Spaniards  who  were  accustomed  to  using  the  animals  in 
capturing  negroes ;  and  as  the  dogs  had  been  trained  to  the  Spanish 
language,  they  would  have  been  useless  under  the  control  of  per- 
sons who  could  only  speak  the  dialect  of  our  own  country. 

The  very  general  error  that  existed  throughout  the  country,  afc 
the  time  of  this  transaction,  arose  from  a  misapprehension  of  the 
facts.  There  had  been  much  said  in  regard  to  these  blood-hounds 
before  they  were  actually  obtained.  When  the  report  of  the  War 
Department,  under  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  twenty-eighth  of  January,  1839,  was  published,  containing  the 
letter  of  General  Jessup  addressed  to  Colonel  Harney,  which  we 
have  quoted,  many  members  of  Congress  appeared  indignant  at 
what  they  regarded  as  a  stain  upon  our  national  honor  in  obtaining 
and  employing  blood-hounds  to  act  in  concert  with  our  troops  and 
our  Indian  allies  in  this  war.  Party  feelings  ran  high,  and  southern 
members  of  Congress,  who  were  acting  with  the  Whig  party,  were 
willing  to  seize  upon  any  circumstance  that  would  reflect  discredit- 
ably upon  the  then  existing  Administration. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  December,  1839,  the  Hon.  Henry 
A.  Wise,  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Virginia, 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  inquiring  as  to  facts 
relating  to  the  employment  of  blood-hounds  in  aid  of  our  troops.^ 


(1)  We  have  no  copy  of  Mr.  Wise's  letter,  and  have  never  seen  the  letter  itself;  but  we 
Btate  the  fact  that  he  wrote  the  Secretary  of  War  by  authority  of  that  officer,  who  says 
in  the  letter  quoted,  '■  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  oj  the 
27th  inst,,  inquiring,"  etc. 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  267 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Poinsett,  the  Secretary  of  War,  replied  on  the 
thirtieth  of  December,  as  follows  : 

"War  Department,  December  30, 1839. 

•'  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  let- 
'•  ter  of  the  twenty-seventh  instant,  inquiring  into  the  truth  of  the 
*•  assertion  made  by  the  public  papers,  that  the  Government  had 
"  determined  to  use  blood-hounds  in  the  war  against  the  Florida  In- 
**  dians ;  and  beg  to  assure  you  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to 
**  give  you  all  the  information  on  this  subject  in  possession  of  the 
**  Department. 

*'  From  the  time  I  first  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  War  De- 
"  partment,  I  continued  to  receive  letters  from  officers  commanding 
*'  in  Florida,  as  well  as  from  the  most  enlightened  citizens  in  that 
**  Territory,  urging  the  employment  of  blood-hounds  as  the  most 
"  efficient  means  of  terminating  the  atrocities  daily  perpetrated  by 
**  the  Indians  on  the  settlers  in  that  Territory.  To  these  proposals 
**  no  answer  was  given,  until  in  the  month  of  August,  1838,  while 
"  at  the  Virginia  Springs,  there  was  referred  to  me,  from  the  De- 
*'  partment,  a  letter,  addressed  to  the  Adjutant  General  by  the  offi- 
"  cer  commanding  the  forces  in  Florida  (General  Taylor),  to  the 
*'  following  effect : 

"  Head  Quarters  Armt  of  the  South,  \ 
Fort  Brooke,  July  28,  1838.      5 

"  Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  you  a  communication  this  moment  received,  on  the 
subject  of  procuring  blood-hounds  from  the  Island  of  Cuba  to  aid  the  army  in  its  opeia- 
tions  against  the  hostiles  in  Florida.  I  am  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  beg 
leave  to  urge  it  as  the  only  means  of  ridding  the  country  of  the  Indians,  who  are  now- 
broken  up  into  small  parties  that  take  shelter  in  swamps  and  hommocks,  making  it  im- 
possible for  us  to  follow  or  overtake  them  without  the  aid  of  such  auxiliaries.  Should  this 
measure  meet  the  approbation  of  the  Department,  and  the  necessary  authority  be  granted, 
I  will  open  a  correspondence  with  Mr.  Evertscn  on  the  subject,  through  Major  Hunt,  As 
sistant  Quarter  Ma.ster  at  Savannah,  and  will  authorize  him,  if  it  can  be  done  on  reasona- 
ble terms,  to  employ  a  few  dogs  with  persons  who  understand  their  management. 

"  I  wish  it  distinctly  understood,  that  my  object  in  employing  dogs  is  only  to  ascertaia 
where  the  Indians  can  be  found,  not  to  worry  them. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Z.  TAYLOR, 
"  General  R.  Jones,  Brev.  Brig.  Gen.  U.  S.  A.  Ccmmanding. 

"  Washington,  D.  C." 


268  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

**  On  this  letter  I  indorsed  the  following  decision,  which  was 
"  communicated  to  General  Taylor  :  '  I  have  always  been  of  opin- 
**  ion  that  dogs  ought  to  be  employed  in  this  warfare  to  protect  the 
"  army  from  surprises  and  ambuscades,  and  to  track  the  Indian  to 
"  his  lurking  place;  but  supposed  if  the  General  believed  them  to 
**  be  necessary,  he  would  not  hesitate  to  take  measures  to  secure 
**  them.  The  cold-blooded  and  inhuman  murders  lately  perpetra- 
**  ted  upon  helpless  women  and  children  by  these  ruthless  savages, 
"  render  it  expedient  that  every  possible  means  should  be  resorted 
"to,  in  order  to  protect  the  people  of  Florida,  and  to  enable  the 
"  United  States  forces  to  follow  and  capture  or  destroy  the  savage 
*'  and  unrelenting  foe.  General  Taylor  is  therefore  authorized  to 
*'  procure  such  number  of  dogs  as  he  may  judge  necessary  :  it  be- 
"ing  expressly  understood  that  they  are  to  be  employed  to  track 
**  and  discover  the  Indians,  not  to  worry  or  destroy  them.' 

**  This  is  the  only  action  or  correspondence,  on  the  part  of  the 
*'  Department,  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  relation  to  the  matter. 
"  The  General  took  no  measures  to  carry  into  effect  his  own  recom- 
*•  mendation,  and  this  Department  has  never  since  renewed  the  sub- 
"  ject.  I  continue,  however,  to  entertain  the  opinion  expressed  in 
**the  above  decision.  I  do  not  believe  that  description  of  dog, 
* '  called  the  blood-hound,  necessary  to  prevent  surprise  or  track  the 
"  Indian  murderer  ;  but  still  I  think  that  every  cabin,  every  mili- 
**  tary  post,  and  every  detachment,  should  be  attended  by  dogs. 
"  That  precaution  might  have  saved  Dade's  command  from  massa- 
*'  ere,  and  by  giving  timely  warning  have  prevented  many  of  the 
"  cruel  murders  which  have  been  committed  by  the  Indians  in  mid- 
"  die  Florida.  The  only  successful  pursuit  of  Indian  murderers  that 
"I  know  of,  was,  on  a  late  occasion,  when  the  pursuers  were  aided 
*'  by  the  sagacity  of  their  dogs.  These  savages  had  approached  a 
"  cabin  of  peaceful  and  industrious  settlers  so  stealthily,  that  the 
"first  notice  of  their  presence  was  given  by  a  volley  from  their 
"rifles,  thrust  between  the  logs  of  the  house;  and  the  work  of 
"  death  was  finished  by  tomahawking  the  women,  after  tearing  from 


TIIK    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  269 

**  them  their  infant  children,  and  dashing  their  brains  out  against 
*'  the  door  posts. 

"  Are  these  ruthless  savages  to  escape  and  repeat  such  scenes  of 
*'  blood,  because  they  can  elude  our  fellow  citizens  in  Florida,  and 
"  our  regular  soldiers,  and  baffle  their  unaided  efforts  to  overtake 
•'or  discover  them?  On  a  late  occasion,  three  of  our  estimable 
*' citizens  were  killed  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  St.  Augus- 
"  tine,  and  one  officer  of  distinguished  merit  mortally  wounded.  It 
"is  in  evidence,  that  these  murders  were  committed  by  two  In- 
"  dians,  who,  after  shooting  down  the  father  and  beating  out  the 
"  son's  brains  with  the  butts  of  their  rifles,  upon  hearing  the  ap- 
"  proach  of  the  volunteers,  retired  a  few  yards  into  the  woods  and 
**  secreted  themselves,  until  the  troops  returned  to  town  with  the 
*'  dead  bodies  of  those  who  had  been  thus  inhumanly  and  wantonly 
**  butchered. 

**  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  corps  had  not  been  accompanied 
**  with  one  or  two  hunters,  who,  with  their  dogs,  might  have  tracked 
"the  blood-stained  footsteps  of  these  Indians;  have  restored  to 
"  liberty  the  captives  they  were  dragging  away  with  them,  and  have 
"prevented  them  from  ever  again  repeating  such  atrocities;  nor 
"  could  the  severest  casuist  object  to  our  fellow  citizens  in  Florida 
"  resorting  to  such  measures,  in  order  to  protect  the  lives  of  their 
"  women  and  children. 

*'Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"J.  R.  POINSETT. 
«  Hon.  Henrt  a.  Wise, 

*'  House  of  Representatives." 

It  is  no  part  of  our  present  duties  to  comment  on  the  code  of 
morals  which  the  Secretary  of  War  had  adopted.  He  undoubtedly 
felt,  that  neither  the  Indians  nor  negroes  "possessed  any  rights 
which  white  men  were  bound  to  respect."  He  was  not,  he  could 
not,  have  been  ignorant  of  the  cold-blooded  massacre  of  nearly  three 
hundred  Exiles  and  Indians  at  Blount's  Fort,  in  1816;  nor  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  present  war  had  been  brought  on ;  nor  of  the 


270  THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA. 

objects  for  which  it  was  prosecuted ;  nor  does  it  appear  possible  that 
he,  a  large  slaveholder  of  South  Carolina,  could  have  expected 
these  blood-hounds  would  follow  the  trail  of  Indians.  But  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that  he  had  been  exceedingly  vexed  with  the  indom- 
itable resistance  of  the  Exiles.  They  appeared  perfectly  determined 
not  to  be  enslaved,  and  that  determination  had  given  him  much 
trouble ;  and  he  must  have  foreseen  the  defeat  of  his  party  in  the 
next  Presidential  contest,  should  all  these  facts  become  known  to 
the  public.  With  these  feelings,  he  was  prepared  to  apply  almost 
any  epithets  to  the  Indians,  as  the  friends  and  allies  of  a  people 
to  whose  real  character  he  dared  not  publicly  allude,  although  they 
were  occasioning  the  Administration  so  much  trouble. 

Having  shown  that  no  blood-hounds  had  been  previously  employ- 
ed, he  proceeded  to  argue  the  propriety  of  employing  them  in 
future,  by  adopting  the  policy  proposed  by  the  Legislature  of 
Florida,  who,  as  we  have  already  seen,  had  taken  measures  to 
obtain  them  some  twenty  days  prior  to  the  date  of  this  communi- 
cation. 

The  Secretary  of  War  thus  exonerated  himself  and  the  Federal 
Executive  from  the  responsibility  of  employing  blood-hounds,  on  the 
thirtieth  of  December ;  and  the  animals  arrived  in  Florida,  under 
charge  of  Colonel  Fitzpatrick,  just  one  week  subsequently  to  that 
date. 

One  feature  was  most  obvious,  in  the  commencement  and  prose- 
cution of  this  war :  we  allude  to  the  very  respectful,  almost  obse- 
quious obedience  of  the  Executive  to  the  popular  feeling  in  favor 
of  slavery,  in  every  part  of  the  country  where  that  institution  ex- 
isted. This  war  had  been  commenced  at  the  instance  of  the  people 
of  Florida.  General  Jessup  attempted  to  change  the  articles  of 
capitulation  which  he  had  signed,  when  the  people  of  Florida  pro- 
tested against  peace,  unless  attended  by  a  restoration  of  slaves; 
and  now,  when  the  popular  voice  of  the  nation  had  paralyzed  the 
Executive  arm  in  regard  to  obtaining  blood-hounds,  the  people  of 
Florida,  in  their  Legislature,  took  up  the  subject  and  carried  the 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  271 

policy  into  practice,  so  far  as  to  obtain  the  animals ;  but  that  would 
be  of  no  use  unless  they  could  be  employed  by  the  army  of  the 
United  States.  Preparatory  to  this  adoption  of  the  purchase  made 
by  the  Legislature  of  Florida,  Mr.  Poinsett  had  argued  the  pro- 
priety of  their  employment,  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Wise  ;  and  twenty- 
six  days  afterwards,  he  wrote  General  Taylor  as  follows : 

"War  Department,  Jan'y  26,  1840. 

**  Sir  :  It  is  understood  by  the  Department,  although  not  offi- 
"  cially  informed  of  the  fact,  that  the  authorities  of  the  Territory 
"  have  imported  a  pack  of  blood-hounds  from  the  Island  of  Cuba. 
**  And  I  think  it  proper  to  direct,  in  the  event  of  those  dogs  being 
*'  employed  by  any  officer  or  officers  under  your  command,  that 
•*  their  use  be  confined  altogether  to  tracking  the  Indians ;  and  in 
**  order  to  insure  this,  and  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  their  injur- 
**  ing  any  person  whatever,  that  they  be  muzzled  and  held  with  a 
**  leash  while  following  the  track  of  the  enemy. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"J.  R.  POINSETT. 
"Brig.  Gen'l  Z.  Taylor, 

"  Com'd'g  Army  of  the  South,  Florida." 

From  the  commencement  of  this  war,  the  officers  of  our  army  had 
found  it  necessary  to  employ  persons  who  could  communicate  with 
the  Indians  in  their  own  tongue.  This  was  usually  done  through 
negroes,  who  could  safely  approach  both  Exiles  and  Indians ;  they 
were,  in  fact,  the  only  class  of  persons  who  could  safely  go  from 
our  posts  to  those  of  the  enemy.  No  Indians  could  do  it  unless  by 
arrangement  made  through  those  negroes;  inasmuch  as  Creeks, 
Chickasaws  and  Choctaws  were  employed  to  act  with  our  troops  in 
hunting  down  the  Seminoles,  who  shot  those  Creeks,  Choctaws  and 
Chickasaws,  when  opportunity  permitted,  with  just  as  little  cere- 
mony as  they  did  white  men. 

When  those  negroes  visited  the  Seminoles,  they  were  supposed 
to  convey  to  them  as  accurate  intelligence  in  regard  to  our  troops, 


272  THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

as  they  brought  back  respecting  the  enemy's  forces ;  they  were, 
therefore,  supposed  to  have  put  their  brethren,  the  Exiles,  upon 
their  guard  in  respect  to  the  blood-hounds.  Understanding  per- 
fectly the  nature  and  education  of  those  animals,  it  does  not  appear 
very  extraordinary  to  us  that  the  Exiles  remained  for  a  time  in  the 
interior,  where  neither  blood-hounds  nor  civilized  troops  were  accus- 
tomed to  penetrate.  This  policy  of  the  Exiles  rendered  useless  the 
whole  expenditure  of  money  and  honor,  made  in  the  purchase  of 
blood-hounds  and  Spaniards,  with  a  view  to  their  capture. 

But  the  animals  had  been  obtained,  and  authority  given  to  our 
officers  to  employ  them.  The  Spaniards  attended  them.  The  dogs 
were  attached  to  different  regiments,  and  fed  liberally  on  bloody 
meat ;  young  calves  were  provided,  and  driven  with  each  scouting 
party,  to  supply  food  for  them.  The  Spaniards  were  supplied 
with  a  sufficient  number  of  assistants  to  keep  the  dogs  in  their 
leashes.  Thus  provided,  several  parties,  composed  of  regular 
troops,  militia,  Indians,  Spaniards,  dogs  and  calves,  started  for  the 
interior.  Their  marches  continued  in  some  instances  for  days  be- 
fore they  found  even  the  track  of  an  enemy ;  but  when  they  found 
foot-prints  of  Indians,  and  the  dogs  were  looked  to  with  confidence 
to  lead  on  the  warlike  host,  while  some  more  humble  officer,  follow- 
ing the  canine  leaders,  Spaniards  and  Indians,  was  expected  to 
bear  aloft  the  glorious  stars  and  stripes,  as  they  engaged  in  deadly 
conflict  with  the  wily  foe;  —  lo  !  just  at  that  moment,  when  all 
hearts  were  palpitating ;  while  hope  was  at  its  height ;  when  the 
stem  resolve  clothed  each  brow  with  the  dark  scowl  of  battle,  the 
dogs  were  blithe  and  frolicsome,  but  paid  no  more  attention  to  the 
tracks  of  the  Indians  than  to  those  of  the  ponies  on  which  they 
sometimes  rode. 

This  grand  experiment  for  closing  the  Florida  War  was  now 
pronounced  a  dead  failure  ;  and  the  use  of  dogs,  and  calves,  and 
Spaniards,  was  discarded ;  and  the  whole  affiiir  served  no  other 
purpose  than  to  bring  odium  upon  the  Administration,  and  ridicule 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  273 

upon  the  officers  who  proposed  the  employment  of  blood-hounds  to 
act  as  allies  of  the  American  army. 

General  Taylor,  having  had  command  of  the  army  in  Florida 
nearly  two  years,  and  the  sickly  season  having  commenced,  request- 
ed to  be  relieved  from  that  responsible  station.  His  request  was 
granted,  and  he  left  Florida  for  his  plantation  in  Louisiana.  Bre- 
vet Brigadier  General  Armistead,  by  order  of  the  War  Department, 
assumed  the  position  from  which  General  Taylor  retired. 

18 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

HOSTILITIES  CONTINUED. 

Presidential  Election  of  1840  —  The  War  discussed  as  one  of  the  issues  —  EfiFect  on  the 
Election  —  Publication  of  Jay's  View  —  Action  of  the  Executive  paralyzed  —  Spanish 
Indians  —  Destructiofi  of  Indian  Key  —  Troops  inactive  —  Allies  commit  new  depreda- 
tions—  New  Expedient — Its  failure  —  Chiefs  invited  to  Fort  King — Exiles  refuse  to 
treat  —  Massacre  of  Lieutenant  Sherwood  and  party  —  Melancholy  fate  of  Mrs.  Mont- 
gomery —  White  men  disguised  as  Indians  —  Murder  of  Cora  Tustenuggee  —  Order  of 
Secretary  of  War  —  Letter  to  General  Armistead  —  Bribery  of  Indians  —  Mr.  Thompson's 
Bill—  Discussion  of  the  causes  of  the  War  in  Congress  —  Enemy  find  protection  in  large 
Bwamps  —  Their  renewed  depredations  —  General  distress  —  People  of  Florida  again 
driven  from  their  homes  —  Employed  in  public  service  —  Their  Slaves  employed  —  They 
become  interested  in  continuing  the  War. 

The  Presidential  election  of  this  year  was  conducted  differently 
from  any  that  had  preceded  it.  The  opponents  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren  arraigned  him  before  the  people  for  his  ex- 
travagance in  the  expenditure  of  the  public  treasure,  and  the 
immense  losses  which  the  nation  sustained  by  the  default  and  irre- 
sponsibility of  officers  appointed  by  him.  It  constitutes  an  era  in 
our  political  history,  from  which  we  date  the  practice  of  calling 
directly  upon  the  people  to  pass  judgment  of  condemnation  upon 
the  action  of  our  National  Executive.  Every  honorable  means  was 
resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  exposing  the  errors  of  the  Adminis- 
tration during  the  previous  four  years. 

Among  the  subjects  made  prominent  before  the  country,  was  that 
of  the  extravagant  expenditures  in  prosecuting  the  *'  Florida  War." 
Speeches  were  made  in  Congress  exposing  the  various  practices 

(274) 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  275 

by  which  the  people's  money  was  squandered  in  that  unfortunate 
conflict;  the  policy  of  attempting  to  compel  the  Indians  to  emigrate, 
and  the  cruelty  practiced  towards  them,  were  commented  on  with 
severity.  These  speeches  were  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  and  sent 
to  the  people  in  vast  numbers :  but  the  real  cause  of  the  war,  the 
deep  depravity  of  that  policy  which  sought  the  enslavement  of  the 
Exiles,  was  not  mentioned ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  any  member  of 
Congress  was  conscious,  even,  that  such  a  people  as  the  Exiles  was 
living  in  Florida.^  But,  nevertheless,  it  is  quite  certain  that  this 
war  proved  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  defeat; 
and,  during  the  pendency  of  the  election,  these  complaints  paralyzed 
the  action  of  the  Executive. 

Another  cause  operated  to  call  public  attention  to  the  war. 
Hon.  William  Jay,  of  New  York,  published  a  small  book  upon 
the  action  of  our  Government  in  regard  to  slavery.  It  was  a  work 
of  much  merit,  and,  coming  from  the  pen  of  one  so  intimately 
associated  with  the  best  interests  of  the  country,  it  exerted  an  influ- 
ence upon  the  public  mind.  It  had  been  published  some  two  or 
three  years ;  but  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  it  attracted 
attention  in  most  of  the  free  States,  and  gave  public  men  to  under- 
stand that  their  ofiicial  acts  were  to  be  made  known  to  coming 
generations. 

The  intimate  relation  which  this  war  bore  to  slavery,  rendered 
every  movement  in  regard  to  it  dangerous  to  the  Executive  charac- 
ter, and  caused  our  army  to  be  almost  inactive  for  several  months ; 
but  the  allies,  driven  to  desperation,  prepared  to  wreak  their  ven- 
geance on  every  white  person  who  should  venture  within  their  reach. 
A  small  band,  composed  of  Spanish  negroes  and  Indians,  among 
whom  were  said  to  be  some  maroons  from  Cuba,  resided  far  down 
in  the  Peninsula  of  Florida.     They  were  called  Spanish  Indians, 

(1)  The  Author  was  at  that  time  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  He  had 
then  no  conception  of  the  real  objects  of  this  war :  indeed,  it  had  long  been  the  practice 
for  members  to  say  nothing  on  the  subject  of  slavery ;  and  it  was  equally  the  practice 
for  newspapers  to  print  nothing  on  that  delicate  subject,  as  it  was  called.  Of  course  the 
people  knew  very  little  concerning  it. 


276  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

and  had  remained  neutral  up  to  the  period  of  which  we  are  speak- 
ing ;  but  finding  their  brethren  driven  from  their  own  possessions, 
and  compelled  to  encroach  upon  the  territory  so  long  occupied  by 
themselves,  they  took  up  arms  against  the  United  States.  Every 
vessel  that  happened  to  be  wrecked  upon  their  coast  was  plundered, 
and  the  crews  massacred. 

On  the  morning  of  the  seventh  of  August,  a  number  of  these 
people,  said  to  have  been  led  on  by  Spanish  maroons,  crossed  over 
to  a  small  island  called  "  Indian  Key,"  situated  at  some  twenty 
miles  distant  from  the  main  land,  and  attacked  the  dwellings, 
burned  the  storehouses,  and  destroyed  most  of  the  property  belong- 
in  o-  to  the  inhabitants.    There  were  but  four  or  five  families  resident 

o 

on  the  island.  Of  these.  Dr.  Perrine,  a  man  of  some  distinction, 
was  murdered  in  his  own  house ;  but,  by  his  valor,  he  enabled  the 
other  members  of  his  family  to  escape,  amid  the  darkness  of  night. 
The  allies  obtained  much  plunder,  but  found  no  powder,  which  was 
said  to  have  been  the  principal  object  of  the  foray. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn,  our  troops  in  Florida  were 
inactive.  The  season  was  sickly,  and  the  officers  and  men  lay  su- 
pinely in  their  encampments.  The  enemy  felt  secure  in  their  strong- 
holds—  sallying  forth  in  occasional  forays,  murdering  the  people, 
and  plundering  the  settlements  with  impunity.  The  Administration 
appeared  astonished  at  the  audacity  with  which  a  few  Indians  and 
negroes  hurled  defiance  at  our  army  and  the  nation.  The  expedi- 
ent of  employing  savages  to  assist  in  the  war  had  failed ;  the  more 
questionable  policy  of  employing  blood-hounds,  had  not  only  failed, 
but  was  supposed  by  many  to  reflect  discredit  upon  the  army  and 
nation.  Nearly  five  thousand  troops  were  kept  in  Florida,  main- 
tained at  vast  expense  ;  but  they  could  neither  conquer  the  Indians, 
nor  even  protect  the  white  people.  Under  these  circumstances,  the 
Executive  saw  but  one  resource  ;  of  that  he  availed  himself.  By 
his  direction,  twelve  Seminole  and  Mickasukie  Indians,  who  had 
emigrated  "West,  were  induced  by  sufficient  pecuniary  considera- 
tions to  leave  their  families  in  the  Western  Country  and  return  to 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  2T7 

Florida,  for  the  purpose  of  persuading  the  Indians  and  Exiles  to 
emigrate.  Thus,  after  four  years  of  war  and  constant  expenditure 
of  blood  and  treasure,  the  President  discovered  that  moral  power 
is  greater  and  stronger  than  physical  violence. 

But  this  discovery  came  too  late.  He  could  no  longer  do  justice 
to  those  fathers  and  mothers  and  children  who  had  been  slain,  nor 
to  those  who  had  been  enslaved ;  who  had  been  taken  far  into  the 
interior,  sold  and  transferred  from  hand  to  hand  like  brutes.  They 
had  passed  from  Executive  control.  The  crime  now  stained  our 
national  escutcheon,  and  no  effort  could  wash  it  out.  The  very 
means  which  he  adopted  to  close  the  war,  operated  to  prolong  it. 
These  Seminoles  and  Mickasukies  informed  their  brethren  of  their 
own  condition,  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were  treated,  and  the 
violations  of  faith  on  the  part  of  our  Government  in  not  giving 
them  a  territory  for  their  separate  use,  as  stipulated  in  the  treaty, 
and  constantly  represented  to  them  by  our  oflficers ;  that  they  were 
without  a  home  and  without  a  country,  residing  on  Cherokee  lands, 
under  Cherokee  protection,  to  prevent  the  Creeks  from  enslaving 
their  friends,  the  Exiles.  Many  officers  at  the  time  doubted  their 
desire  to  induce  the  emigration  of  their  brethren.^ 

They,  however,  obtained  an  interview  between  the  Commanding 
General  and  two  Seminole  chiefs  at  Fort  King.  The  chiefs  were 
attended  by  some  forty  warriors,  who  remained  in  that  vicinity  four 
or  five  days,  receiving  food  and  articles  of  clothing  from  the  United 
States ;  but  they  suddenly  disappeared,  and  it  was  believed  they 
originally  came  with  hostile,  rather  than  pacific,  intentions.  When 
it  was  found  they  had  left  clandestinely,  the  troops  attempted  to 
follow  them,  but  were  unable  to  find  any  traces  of  their  flight. 

(1)  Captain  Sprague,  in  bis  histor}'  of  the  Florida  War,  says,  "The  truth,  when  made 
known  to  the  lud  ans  who  remained  in  Florida,  constituted  the  strongest  argument  why 
they  should  not.  emigrate.  Had  they  (says  that  author)  been  kept  in  ignorance,  better  re- 
sults might  have  been  anticipated ;  but  what  they  gathered  from  the  honest  confessions 
and  silence  of  their  brothers  tended  to  make  them  venerate  with  more  fidelity  and  in- 
creased love  the  soil  which  they  had  defended  with  heroic  fortitude  for  five  consecutive 
years." 


278  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

While  these  things  were  transpiring,  the  army  lay  idle  in  their 
quarters ;  neither  the  Executive,  nor  the  Secretary  of  War,  nor  the 
Commanding  General,  knowing  what  to  do. 

The  Exiles  learned  from  the  Seminoles  and  Mickasukies,  who 
visited  them  from  the  West,  that  many  of  their  brethren  who  sur- 
rendered under  the  articles  of  capitulation,  had  been  reenslaved,  in 
violation  of  our  plighted  faith;  and  they  refused  to  hold  further 
intercourse  with  the  agents  of  our  Government.  To  them  there 
appeared  but  one  alternative  —  victory  or  death ;  and  they  greatly 
preferred  the  latter, to  slavery.  Taking  their  families  far  into  the 
interior,  they  hastened  to  renew  the  war  with  vigor  and  energy. 

A  party  of  some  thirty  Indians  and  Exiles  were  lurking  about 
Mieanopy,  when,  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  December,  Lieutenant 
Sherwood,  Lieutenant  Hopson,  Sergeant  Major  Carrol,  and  ten 
privates  of  the  7th  Infantry,  left  Mieanopy  for  the  purpose  of 
escorting  Mrs.  Montgomery,  wife  of  a  Lieutenant  of  that  regiment, 
through  the  forest  to  Watkahoota,  eight  miles  distant.  The  lady 
was  on  horseback,  while  others  of  the  party  rode  in  a  wagon  drawn  by 
mules,  and  some  marched  on  foot.  The  enemy  having  observed 
their  movements,  preceded  them  to  a  hommock,  about  four  miles 
from  Mieanopy,  where  they  secreted  themselves,  and  awaited  the 
approach  of  Mrs.  Montgomery  and  party.  When  they  were  fairly 
within  the  hommock,  through  which  the  road  passed,  they  were 
fired  upon,  and  two  privates  fell  dead.  The  war-whoop  was  raised, 
and  the  little  party  found  themselves  confronted  by  savages.  Lieu- 
tenant Sherwood  is  said  to  have  rallied  his  escort  with  promptness. 
Mrs.  Montgomery,  attempting  to  get  into  the  wagon,  was  shot  dead. 
Sherwood  very  discreetly  retreated  to  the  open  forest,  and  dispatched 
Lieutenant  Hopson  to  Mieanopy  for  a  reinforcement.  Knowing  the 
impossibility  of  retreating  from  Indians,  and  conscious  that  they 
gave  no  quarter,  he  bravely  determined  to  defend  himself  or  die  on 
the  field.  But  his  assailants  numbered  three  times  as  many  war- 
riors as  he  had.     They  out-flanked  and  surrounded   his  ill-fated 


THE   EXILES   OF  FLORIDA.  279 

party,  all  of  whom  with  himself  fell  victims  to  that  policy  which 
had  brought  this  war,  with  all  its  crimes,  upon  our  nation. 

We  cannot  withhold  our  sympathy  from  those  patriotic  men  who 
enter  the  public  service  expecting  to  act  in  an  honorable  sphere  in 
favor  of  just  measures ;  but  who  are  often  made  the  instruments  of 
injustice,  and  their  lives  sacrificed  to  the  spirit  and  policy  of  oppres- 
sion. Our  officers  and  soldiers,  serving  in  this  Florida  War,  were 
duly  conscious  of  the  dishonorable  employment  in  which  they  were 
engaged ;  that  they  were  daily  subjected  to  dangers  and  death  for 
the  purpose  of  enabling  the  people  of  Florida  to  seize  men  and 
women,  and  sell  them  into  interminable  bondage.  Officers  and 
men  who  would  cheerfully  meet  danger  and  death  upon  the  field  of 
honorable  warfare  in  defense  of  freedom,  were  compelled  to  meet 
death  in  all  its  various  and  revolting  forms  in  Florida  to  uphold  op- 
pression, to  sustain  an  institution  which  they  abhorred ;  nor  can  we 
wonder  that  the  consciousness  of  these  facts  should  have  created  a 
feeling  of  hostility  between  our  regular  troops  and  the  slaveholders 
of  Florida,  who  were  constantly  charging  them  with  inefficiency 
and  want  of  energy  in  the  capture  of  negroes.  This  feeling  ran  so 
high  that  the  white  men  of  Florida  were  charged  with  disguising 
themselves  as  Indians,  and  actually  committing  murders  and  robber- 
ies upon  mail  carriers  and  express  riders,  in  order  to  continue  hos- 
tilities and  keep  up  the  war.^  This  feeling  greatly  increased  the 
embarrassment  of  the  Executive. 

A  chief  named  "  Cora  Tustenuggee/'  after  due  consultation  with 
the  interpreters  sent  to  induce  him  to  emigrate,  concluded  to  sur- 
render, and  go  West.  He  collected  his  band,  numbering  about  one 
hundred  in  all.  Among  them  were  some  half  breeds,  descendants 
of  the  pioneer  Exiles.  They  had  intermarried  with  Indians  of  this 
band,  and  were  treated  as  Indians.  While  on  their  way  to  one  of 
our  posts,  near  Palaklikaha  Lake,  they  were  fired  upon  by  a  party 

(1)  Captain  Sprague,  in  his  history,  declare?,  that  it  was  proven  in  two  instances  that 
white  men,  disguised  as  Indians,  actually  committed  depredations  and  murdered  white 
people. 


§8#  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

of  dragoons  who  were  said  to  have  been  conscious  of  the  intentions 
of  the  Indians.  This  supposed  violation  of  faith  was  greatly  aggra- 
vated by  the  subsequent  wanton  murder  of  the  chief,  after  he  and 
his  band  had  quietly  submitted  as  prisoners.  These  people  were 
immediately  sent  to  Tampa  Bay,  and  then  embarked  for  the  West- 
ern Country,  where  they  joined  their  brethren,  still  resident  on  the 
Cherokee  lands,  and  under  Cherokee  protection. 

The  Presidential  election  being  past,  the  Executive  felt  more 
untrammeled ;  and  Mr.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of  War,  resisting  the 
instruction  which  he  might  have  drawn  from  four  years  of  unfortu- 
nate experience,  appears  to  have  determined  to  leave  this  Florida 
War  in  as  unpromising  condition  as  he  found  it.  He  sent  instruc- 
tions to  the  Commanding  General  to  renew  the  war  with  whatever 
force  he  could  bring  into  the  field. 

It  is  a  somewhat  singular  fact,  that  when  the  Secretary  under- 
stood, and  the  country  was  fully  informed,  that  he  would  leave 
the  Department  on  the  fourth  of  March,  he  wrote  the  commanding 
officer  on  the  eighteenth  of  February,  thirteen  days  prior  to  his  own 
political  dissolution,  saying,  '*  The  Department  entertains  the  well- 
"  grounded  hope  that  you  will  be  able  to  bring  the  war  to  a  close 
*'  upon  the  terms  required  by  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing,  and 
"  by  the  interests  and  feelings  of  the  people  of  Florida. ^^ 

The  reader  must  be  aware  that  the  feelings  and  interests  of  the 
people  of  Florida  required  the  capture  and  enslavement  of  the  Ex- 
iles ;  for  which  the  Secretary  of  War  had  so  long  labored,  and 
which  appeared  to  be  his  ruling  passion  —  "  strong  in  the  hour  of 
his  political  death." 

To  effect  this  object,  recourse  was  had  to  the  bribery  of  certain 
chiefs.  Money  was  now  offered  certain  influential  men  of  the  Sem- 
inoles  and  Exiles  to  induce  them  to  exert  their  influence  with  their 
friends  to  emigrate.  It  was  reported  that  slaves  who  had  but  a  few 
years  since  left  their  masters,  and  intermarried  with  the  Seminoles, 
dare  not  surrender,  knowing  that  slavery  awaited  such  act.  With- 
out them,  their  relatives  and  connexions  would  not  remove.     It 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  281 

was  therefore  proposed  that  Congress  should  make  an  appropriation 
for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  such  Exiles ;  yet  the  bill  making  it 
was  general  in  its  provisions,  granting  a  hundred  thousand  dollars 
to  be  expended  by  the  Secretary  of  War  for  the  subsistence  and 
benefit  of  certain  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Seminole  Indians  who 
wished  to  emigrate.  The  subsistence  of  such  emigrants  was  provi- 
ded for  in  other  bills;  but  the  benefits  for  which  this  money  was  to 
be  expended  was  to  purchase  the  pretended  interest  of  certain  white 
men  to  individual  Exiles  whom  they  claimed  as  property. 

By  thus  disguising  the  real  intention  and  object  of  the  bill,  it 
was  evidently  expected  it  would  pass  without  scrutiny,  under  the 
rules  which  prohibited  the  discussion  of  all  questions  involving  the 
subject  of  slavery.  The  better  to  carry  out  this  design,  Hon. 
Waddy  Thompson  of  South  Carolina,  a  Whig  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  but  fully  sympathizing  with  the  Execu- 
tive in  his  policy  of  conducting  the  war  in  the  manner  *' required 
by  the  interests  and  feelings  of  the  people  of  Florida,^''  was  re- 
garded as  the  proper  agent  to  introduce  the  bill  and  superintend  its 
passage. 

The  information  found  in  the  public  documents  had  awakened 
previous  investigation;  and  when  this  bill  came  up  for 
'^  action  (Feb  9),  the  policy  of  this  war,  with  the  causes 
which  led  to  its  commencement,  were  exposed.  Every  effort  was 
made  by  slaveholding  members  to  prevent  the  public  discussion  of 
this  subject.  They  insisted  that  the  gag-rules,  as  they  were  called, 
prohibiting  the  discussion  of  slavery,  forbid  this  exposure ;  but  the 
presiding  officer  (Mr.  Clifford  of  Maine)  adhering  to  the  parlia- 
mentary law,  decided  that  an  examination  of  the  causes  which  led 
to  the  war  was  legitimate,  and  the  discussion  proceeded. 

This  discussion  was  published  and  widely  circulated  among  the 
people  ;  and  is  supposed  to  have  given  to  the  public  the  first  infor- 
mation touching  the  real  causes  of  the  war.^ 

(1)    This  first   speech  had   been  carefully  prepared   by  the  Author  of  this  work, 
and  contained  little  more  than  a  collation  of  facts  from  public  documents.     It  was 


282  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

The  bill  passed  by  a  large  majority  ;  and  the  report  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  the  next  year,  showing  the  expenditures  of  his  de- 
partment, exhibited  the  manner  in  which  the  money  appropriated 
and  entrusted  to  his  care  was  expended.  Another  bill,  however, 
making  an  appropriation  of  more  than  a  million  of  dollars  for  sup- 
pressing Indian  hostilities  in  Florida  was  passed,  giving  to  the  War 
Department  all  the  powers  desired  for  bribery,  and  tempting  Indian 
chiefs  to  emigrate  to  the  Western  Country. 

By  reference  to  the  map  of  Florida,  it  will  be  perceived  that  the 
great  swamps,  extensive  everglades,  hommocks,  ponds  and  lakes, 
which  spread  over  that  Territoy,  must  present  great  difficulties  in 
the  progress  of  troops  embodied  in  military  force ;  while  a  small 
party,  following  the  footsteps  of  their  leader,  would  pass  over,  around 
or  through  them  with  facility.  The  Great  Okefenoka  Swamp, 
lying  on  the  south  line  of  Georgia  and  the  northern  portion  of 
Florida,  afforded  a  retreat  for  small  parties  of  Indians  and  Exiles, 
from  which  they  sallied  forth  and  committed  depredations  upon  the 
people  of  southern  Georgia,  murdering  families,  burning  buildings 
and  devastating  plantations.  The  swamps  bordering  on  the  With- 
lacoochee,  the  Great  Wahoo  Swamp,  and  other  fastnesses  on  the 
western  portion  of  the  Peninsula,  gave  shelter  to  other  bands,  who, 
in  like  manner,  wreaked  their  vengeance  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
that  portion  of  the  Territory.  So  also  the  Big  Cypress  Swamp, 
lying  farther  south,  afforded  shelter  for  others,  who  laid  waste  the 

made  with  the  design  of  testing  the  application  of  the  gag  rules  more  than  for  the  purpose 
of  exposing  the  character  of  the  war.  Hon.  John  Q.  Adams,  Wm.  Slade,  and  the  Author, 
often  consulted  with  each  other  as  to  the  best  means  for  inducing  the  House  to  repeal 
those  obnoxious  rules.  The  Author  suggested  the  plan  of  alluding  to  slavery  while  pub- 
licly discus.«ing  matters  with  which  it  was  incidentally  connected.  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr. 
Slade  insisted  that  the  Author  should  try  his  plan.  Aware  that  appropriations  for  this 
war  would  be  called  for,  he  prepared  this  speech,  showing  the  causes  of  the  war ;  and  when 
the  bill  above  referred  to  came  before  the  House,  he  proceeded  to  test  his  plan.  He  wa« 
frequently  called  to  order,  and  great  excitement  was  produced  ;  but  he  succeeded  in  deliv- 
ering the  speech.  When  he  was  through,  a  southern  member  replied,  declaring  that  the 
gag-rules  may  as  well  be  repealed  as  kept  in  force,  if  they  permitted  such  discu.ssions.  The 
position  was  evidently  correct,  and  those  disgraceful  rules  were  repealed  by  the  next 
Congress. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  283 

settlements  along  the  St.  John's  River,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  tho 
Atlantic  Coast.  From  these,  and  numerous  other  strong-holds,  the 
Indians  and  their  allies  came  forth  in  small  bands,  spreading  devas- 
tation and  death  throughout  the  Territory  and  the  southern  portion 
of  Georgia. 

The  people  of  Florida  who  had  sought  this  war,  and  protested 
against  peace  except  on  such  terms  as  would  secure  them  in  the 
exercise  of  that  oppression  which  they  deemed  so  necessary  to  their 
happiness,  now  felt  the  full  force  of  that  appropriate  penalty  which 
some  philosophers  believe  attaches  to  every  violation  of  the  law  of 
righteousness.  Some  died  by  the  hands  of  the  very  individuals 
whom  they  had  oppressed,  and  whom  they  again  sought  to  enslave ; 
others  were  again  driven  from  their  homes,  unable  even  to  obtain 
food ;  their  wives  and  children  receiving  rations  from  the  public 
stores,  and  subsisting  by  the  charity  of  the  United  States. 

But  this  condition  of  things  superinduced  another  most  extraor- 
dinary feature  of  this  war.  Our  officers,  and  the  Executive,  natu- 
rally feeling  some  degree  of  sympathy  for  a  people  thus  driven  from 
their  homes,  on  whom  the  evils  of  war  fell  with  so  much  force,  ex- 
tended to  them  every  aid  in  their  power.  Some  were  employed  in 
the  Commissary's  Department ;  some  as  contractors  for  transporting 
provisions ;  and  others  as  attendants  upon  the  army  in  all  the  vari- 
ous departments  of  service,  so  numerous  in  a  time  of  war.  Even 
the  slaves  who  remained  in  the  service  of  their  masters  were  em- 
ployed by  the  officers  as  guides,  interpreters  and  employees  at  high 
wages.  In  this  manner  they  earned  for  their  owners  far  more  than 
they  could  by  labor  upon  plantations.  This  system  was  carried  so 
far,  that  the  war  actually  afforded  to  many  greater  profits  than  they 
could  acquire  in  any  other  way ;  and  consequently  it  became  a 
matter  of  interest  with  such  men  to  prolong  hostilities,  and  they 
were  said  to  exert  all  their  influence  to  effect  that  object. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


HOSTILITIES  CONTINUED. 

General  Harrison  assumes  the  duties  of  Chief  Executive  —  Much  expected  of  him  —  His 
sudden  death — His  successor  —  Politicfil  feeling  —  General  Armistead  retires  —  Is  suc- 
ceeded by  General  Worth  —  Instructions  to  General  Worth  —  He  discharges  all  unneces- 
sary employees  — Halec  Tustenuggee  —  General  Worth's  attempt  to  capture  him  — Wild 
Cat  —  His  character  and  adventures  —  General  Worth  sends  message  to  him  —  He  and 
some  companions  come  in  -His  manner  and  bearing  —  Meets  his  daughter  —  Interest- 
ing scene  —  Is  seized  by  Colonel  Childs  —  Placed  in  irons  and  sent  to  New  Orleans  — 
General  Worth  orders  his  return  —  Meets  him  at  Tampa  Bay  —  Arrangements  —  Wild 
Cat  sends  messengers  to  his  friends  —  Sympathy  for  him  —  Chief  Micco  —  He  brings  in 
his  people  —  Wild  Cat's  band  comes  in  —  He  is  released  from  his  irons  —  Meets  his 
friends  —  His  wife  and  child  —  General  Jessup's  policy  as  to  Exiles  —  Consults  Wild  Cat 

—  Hospetarche  and  Tiger-tail  —  Otulke  comes  in  — Ilospetarche  is  suspicious — Wild  Cat 
brings  him  in  —  Army  suffers  from  sickness  —  General  change  of  policy  from  that 
adopted  at  the  commencement  of  the  War  —  Army  reduced  —  Wild  Cat  visits  Tiger-tail 

—  Singular  adventure  —  Embarkation  of  Emigrants — Parting  scene  between  Wild  Cat 
and  General  Worth  —  The  Emigrants  reach  Fort  Gibson  and  join  their  friends  — Wild 
Cat's  position  in  his  new  home. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  General  Harrison  was  inaugurated 
President  of  the  United  States.  Much  was  expected  of 
him  in  regard  to  the  war.  The  Whigs  had  condemned  it 
throughout  the  Presidential  struggle,  and  it  was  anticipated  that  he 
would  bring  it  to  a  successful  and  honorable  termination ;  but  before 
he  even  entered  upon  the  consideration  of  this  subject,  he  was  called 
from  this  to  another  sphere  of  existence,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
then  Vice  President,  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia.  Nor  is  it  easy  to 
see  what  great  reform  General  Harrison  could  have  effected  in 
regard  to  this  war,  had  he  lived  to  complete  his  term  of  service. 

(284) 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  285 

The  policy  of  so  directing  the  energies  of  the  Federal  Government 
as  to  support  the  interests  of  slavery,  had  long  existed  ;  he  was  not 
expected  to  make  any  substantial  changes  in  that  respect.  But 
whatever  may  have  been  his  designs,  he  had  no  opportunity  to  carry 
them  into  effect;  and  Mr.  Tyler,  after  coming  into  office,  soon 
ceased  to  enjoy  the  confidence  of  the  Whig  party,  who  generally 
declared  themselves  no  longer  responsible  for  his  acts. 

The  new  Administration  soon  identified  itself  with  this  war  by 
the  following  order : 

"Adjutant  Generai's  Office, 

Washington  City,  May  19,  1841. 

*'  Sir  :  Brigadier  General  Armistead,  being  about  to  relinquish 
"  the  command  of  the  Florida  Army,  as  you  will  see  by  the  in- 
'*  structions  communicated  to  him  of  this  date,  of  which  a  copy  is 
"  herewith  enclosed ;  as  the  officer  next  in  rank,  you  will  relieve 
"  him  and  assume  the  command  accordingly. 

"I  am  directed,  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  advise  you  of  the 
"  earnest  desire  of  the  Department  to  terminate,  as  speedily  as  pos- 
**  sible,  the  protracted  hostilities  in  Florida,  and  to  cause  the  most 
"  perfect  protection  and  security  to  be  given  to  the  frontiers,  and 
"  to  those  citizens  who  may  be  disposed  to  penetrate  the  country, 
'*  for  lawful  purposes  of  trade  or  settlement.  For  the  attainment 
**  of  these  important  objects,  you  are  considered  as  being  clothed 
"  with  all  the  powers  of  a  commander  in  the  field,  under  the  laws 
"  and  regulations  of  the  army. 

•'  It  is  expected  the  troops  under  your  command  will  be  kept  in 
**  a  perfect  state  of  discipline,  and  that  you  make  such  disposition 
"  of  them  as  to  be  in  readiness  to  meet  any  contingency  that  may 
**  call  for  active  and  energetic  movements,  the  execution  of  which 
*'  is  left  entirely  at  your  own  discretion. 

*'  If  you  should  deem  it  indispensable  for  the  protection  of  the 
**  frontier,  the  President  directs  that  you  make  a  requisition  upon 
"  the  Governor  of  Florida  for  militia,  not  exceeding  one  regiment, 
*'  which,  if  called  out,  you  will  cause  to  be  mustered  into  the  service 


286  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

"  of  the  United  States,  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  regulations, 
**  for  any  period  authorized  by  the  constitution  and  laws. 

*'  The  Secretary  of  War,  placing,  as  he  does,  entire  confidence 
"  in  your  ability  and  patriotism,  desires  me  to  say,  that  every 
**  possible  aid  and  support  will  be  afforded  to  enable  you  to  bring 
**  to  a  close  this  protracted  and  most  embarrassing  war. 

"As  the  commander  of  Florida,  you  will  exercise  a  sound  dis- 
"  cretion  in  the  use  of  the  means  placed  at  your  disposal ;  and 
**  while  these  should  be  employed  with  the  greatest  efficiency,  the 
"  Secretary  of  War  directs  that  you  will,  consistently  with  the  pri- 
**  mary  object  in  view,  diminish,  in  a  spirit  of  sound  economy,  all 
**  unnecessary  drains  upon  the  Treasury,  by  discharging  all  persons 
**  employed  in  a  civil  capacity  whose  services  you  shall  not  deem 
*'  indispensable  to  the  duties  of  your  command,  and  by  regulating 
"  and  reducing  as  far  as  practicable  all  other  expenses,  in  accord- 
"  ance  with  the  just  expectations  of  the  Government  and  the 
**  country. 

*'  I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"(Signed)  R.  JONES,  Adjutant  General. 

"Col  J.  W.  Worth, 

*'8th  Infantry,  Tampa,  Florida." 

General  Worth  now  applied  himself,  with  commendable  zeal,  to 
the  work  assigned  him.  His  first  object  was  to  discharge  all  em- 
ployees not  necessary  to  the  operations  of  the  army,  and  in  every 
department  to  curtail  the  expenditures  as  far  as  possible ;  thereby 
rendering  the  war  unprofitable  to  those  who  had  been  seeking  to 
prolong  it.     Early  in  June  he  issued  the  following  order : 

"  Head  Quarters,  Army  of  the  Socth,  > 
"  No.  1.]  Fort  King,  June  8,  1841.         5 

*•  I.  Hereafter  no  expenditures  of  money  will  be  made  on 
'*  account  of  barracks-quarters,  or  other  buildings  at  temporary 
**  posts,  except  for  such  slight  covering  as  may  be  indispensably 
**  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  sick  and  security  of  the  public 
**  stores,  without  previous  reference  to,  and  authority  obtained  from, 
"head-quarters. 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  287 

**  II.  All  safe-guards  or  passports  granted  to  Indians  prior  to 
"  this  date,  are  hereby  revoked.  Any  Indian  presenting  himself 
*'  at  any  post,  will  be  seized  and  held  in  strict  confinement,  except 
*•  when  commanding  officers  may,  in  the  exercise  of  sound  discre- 
*'  tion,  deem  it  advisable  to  send  out  an  individual  runner  to  com- 
*'  municate  with  others. 

*'III.  When  the  garrisons  are  not  too  much  reduced  by  sick- 
"  ness,  detachments  will  be  sent  out  as  often  as  once  in  seven  days, 
**  or  more  frequently  if  circumstances  indicate  a  necessity,  to  scour 
*'  and  examine  in  all  directions  to  the  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles. 

**  IV.  All  restraints  heretofore  imposed  upon  district  command- 
**  ers,  in  respect  to  offensive  field  operations,  are  hereby  revoked ; 
''  on  the  contrary,  the  utmost  activity  and  entorprise  is  enjoined. 
*'  District  commanders  will  give  instructions  to  commanders  of  posts 
**  accordingly. 

"  V.  Brief  reports  of  the  operations  carried  on  under  the  fore- 
"  going  orders,  setting  forth  the  strength  of  the  detachments,  and 
**  by  whom  commanded,  with  such  observations  as  may  be  deemed 
*•  useful  or  interesting  to  the  service,  will  be  made  to  district  com- 
"  manders  on  the  10th,  20th,  and  last  of  every  month,  by  whom 
*'  they  will  be  transmitted  to  these  head-quarters. 

"  By  order  of  Colonel  Worth  : 

"(Signed)  G.  WRIGHT, 

"  Capt.  %th  Infantry,  and  A.  A.  A.  GeneraV^ 

Halec  Tustenuggeip  was  regarded  as  the  most  active  and  vindic- 
tive of  the  hostile  chiefs.  Among  his  followers  were  some  forty 
Indian  warriors  and  ten  or  twelve  Exiles  capable  of  bearing  arms. 
They  and  their  families,  numbering  in  all  some  two  hundred  souls, 
were  supposed  to  be  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake 
"  Fonee-8afakee,"  among  the  extensive  swamps  and  hommocks  of 
that  region.  Some  few  of  this  band  had  surrendered  and  gone 
West.  Among  those  who  came  in  to  Fort  Jupiter  for  the  purpose 
of  emigrating,  were  several  Exiles  who  had  been  born  in  that 
region,  and  had  ever  been  connected  with  this  small  tribe.     Some 


'SSS  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

of  those  who  had  previously  surrendered,  were  retained  as  guides 
and  interpreters,  with  the  expectation  that  they  might  be  made  use- 
ful in  persuading  their  friends  to  emigrate  also.  It  was  thought 
very  desirable  to  capture  this  band,  if  possible ;  and  guides,  and 
interpreters,  and  scouts  were  sent  in  every  direction,  where  it  was 
supposed  they  might  be  discovered,  in  order  to  open  a  communica- 
tion with  them.  At  length  it  was  reported  that  a  trail  had  been 
discovered  leading  to  one  of  their  favorite  haunts,  where  it  was 
believed  they  might  be  found. 

We  cannot  better  exhibit  the  dangers  which  constantly  beset  the 
Exiles  who  remained  hostile,  or  the  vigilance  with  which  they  and 
their  friends  watched  for  their  own  safety,  than  by  giving  a  short  ac- 
count of  Colonel  Worth's  expedition  for  the  capture  of  this  small 
party,  which  we  copy  from  Sprague's  History  of  the  Florida  War. 
Says  that  author : 

'*  The  negro  guides,  recently  of  the  band,  represented  it  as  his 
"  favorite  resort  from  its  seclusion,  where  he  held  his  green  corn 
**  dances  and  councils.  Measures  were  at  once  adopted  to  follow 
"  it  up.  Colonel  Worth,  with  one  hundred  men  of  the  2d  Infantry, 
"accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Riley  and  Major  Plympton, 
'*  together  with  Captain  B.  L.  Beall's  company  2d  Dragoons,  and 
**  forty  men  of  the  8th  Infantry,  in  command  of  First  Lieutenant 
"  J.  H.  Harvil,  moved  from  Fort  King  for  Fort  McClure  or  Warm 
**  Spring ;  thence,  under  the  guidance  of  Indian  negroes,  to  the 
"neighborhood  of  the  lake.  At  midnight,,  on  the  night  of  the 
"  tenth,  the  swamp  was  reached  ;  the  troops  having  marched  forty- 
"  four  miles.  To  surprise  the  Indian  camp  just  at  break  of  day, 
"  was  ^he  only  chance  of  success.  The  guides  represented  it  to  be 
"  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  swamp,  five  or  six  miles  through.  The 
"  horses  were  picketed,  and  the  baggage  left  with  a  small  guard  on 
"  the  margin  of  the  swamp.  The  soldier  carried  only  a  musket 
"  and  bis  ammunition ;  the  officers  a  rifle  or  sword.  Quietly  and 
"  resolutely  the  command  moved,  confident  of  success.  The  water 
"  became  colder  and  deeper  at  every  step ;  halts  were  frequently 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  289 

*'  made  to  extricate  the  officers  and  soldiers  from  the  mud.  The 
"  night  was  dark,  which  added  to  the  dismal  gloomy  shadows  of  a 
"cypress  swamp.  The  command  could  only  follow  by  the  splash- 
*'ing  of  water,  and  the  calm  but  firm  intonations  of  the  word  of 
**  command.  The  negroes  in  advance,  followed  closely  by  the  most 
'•  hardy  and  active,  guided  these  two  hundred  men  to  what  wasbe- 
"  lieved  to  be  the  stronghold  of  the  enemy.  Every  hour  and  step 
"  confirmed  this  conviction.  The  advance  reached  the  opposite 
"side  just  before  the  break  of  day.  Anxiously  they  awaited  and 
"  greeted  every  officer  and  soldier  as  he  emerged  from  the  swamp, 
"covered  with  mud  and  water.  Day  broke;  when  silently  the 
"  command  was  given  —  'Fall  in!'  Eleven  officers  and  thirty- 
"  five  privates  were  present.  Occasionally  a  straggler  would  arrive, 
"  and  report  those  in  the  rear  as  coming.  The  Indian  huts,  by  the 
"gray  dawn  of  morning  (twenty -four  in  number),  could  be  dis- 
"  cerned  through  the  scrub,  which  separated  the  white  and  red  man, 
"  three  hundred  yards  distant.  At  this  hour  the  Indian  around 
"  his  camp  fire  feels  secure.  From  the  number  of  huts,  and  their 
"  location,  they  outnumbered  the  asssailants.  To  await  the  arrival 
"  of  the  entire  force,  the  day  would  be  far  advanced ;  and  discov- 
"  ery  was  a  total  defeat.  It  was  determined  with  the  number  pres- 
"  ent  to  make  a  vigorous  assault,  and,  if  outnumbered,  to  rely  upon 
"  those  in  the  rear.  Each  man  reprimed  his  musket,  and  cautious- 
"  ly,  on  his  hands  and  knees,  worked  his  way  through  the  dense 
"  undergrowth  to  within  a  few  yar<ls  of  the  cluster  of  huts  and  tem- 
"  porary  sheds.  Not  a  word  was  uttered.  Eagerly  each  man 
c> "  grasped  his  musket,  anxious  for  the  first  whoop,  when  he  would 
"  be  rewarded  for  his  toil.  A  musket  was  discharged  to  arouse  the 
"  inmates,  and  meet  them  on  their  retreat.  It  sent  back  its  dull 
"  heavy  reverberation,  causing  disppointment  and  chagrin.  Not  a 
"  human  being  occupied  the  huts,  or  was  upon  the  ground." 

Large  fields  of  corn  were  before  them ;  they  had  been  carefully 
cultivated,  and  gave  incontestable  proof  that  the  allies  had  just  left. 
This  place  had  been  the  temporary  residence  of  a  strong  force ;  but 
19 


290  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

their  patrols  had  discovered  the  approach  of  our  troops,  and  com- 
municated information  to  the  party  in  time  to  enable  them,  with 
their  wives  and  children,  to  escape  from  danger. 

The  officers  and  soldiers  looked  about  a  while  with  wonder,  and 
then  commenced  the  work  of  destroying  the  cabins  and  crops,  which 
being  effected,  they  retraced  their  steps  to  head-quarters,  fully  sat- 
isfied that  a  disciplined  army  was  not  adapted  to  the  work  of  sur- 
prising Indians  and  Exiles. 

Perhaps  no  act  or  policy  of  General  Worth  contributed  so  much 
to  the  favorable  prosecution  of  the  war,  as  his  treatment  of  Coacoo- 
chee,  or  Wild  Cat,  as  he  was  more  recently  called.  This  extraordi- 
nary personage  became  conspicuous  in  1841.  During  the  entire 
war  he  deeply  sympathized  with  the  Exiles  —  was  always  attended 
by  some  of  his  more  dusky  friends,  in  whose  welfare  he  took  a  deep 
interest ;  nor  has  he  yet  forsaken  them.  Even  at  the  time  of  wri- 
ting this  narrative,  he  is  supposed  to  be  with  them ;  and  a  short 
notice  of  some  of  his  more  than  romantic  experience  in  this  war 
may  interest  the  reader  in  the  fortunes  of  a  man  who  may  yet  fill 
a  large  space  in  the  history  of  our  country. 

He  was  the  son  of  King  Philip,  a  Seminole  chief  of  some  repu- 
tation. He  is  now  (1857)  about  fifty  years  of  age ;  five  feet  eight 
inches  in  height ;  well  proportioned ;  exhibiting  the  most  perfect 
symmetry  in  his  physical  form.  His  eye  is  dark,  full  and  ex- 
pressive ;  and  his  countenance  youthful  and  pleasing.  His  voice 
is  clear,  soft  and  musical ;  his  speech  fluent ;  his  gestures  rapid 
and  violent.  His  views  are  always  ingenious  and  clearly  expressed ; 
and  he  never  fails  to  infuse  all  his  measures  with  spirit,  and  to  ex- 
ert a  controlling  influence  over  his  followers.  He  was  born  near 
Ahapopka  Lake,  where  he  resided  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Florida  War ;  but  soon  after  sought  a  more  secure  retreat  in  the 
large  swamps,  near  Fort  Mellon  and  Lake  "Okechobee."  His 
band  at  that  time  numbered  some  two  hundred  souls,  amono'  whom 
were  several  families  of  Exiles.  In  these  sable  warriors  he  is  said 
to  have  reposed  much  confidence.     He  accompanied  them  at  the 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  291 

massacre  of  Major  Dade  and  his  battalion  in  December,  1835. 
Here  he  formed  his  acquaintance  with  Lewis  Pacheco,  who  acted  as 
guide  to  Major  Dade.  Lewis  is  said  to  have  attended  him,  and  to 
have  shared  in  every  battle  in  which  Wild  Cat  participated,  until 
the  capitulation  of  1837.  After  that  capitulation  had  been  agreed 
to,  he  visited  General  Jessup's  camp  with  the  apparent  intention  of 
emio-rating  West.  He  brouo;ht  in  some  of  his  friends,  amonoj  whom 
was  Lewis  Pacheco,  whom  he  claimed  as  his  slave,  and  declared 
that  he  had  captured  him  at  Dade's  massacre.  Lewis,  being  a 
negro,  was  placed  within  the  stockade  at  Tampa  Bay,  but  Wild 
Cat  of  course  went  among  his  friends  in  the  vicinity.  When  he 
found  that  General  Jessup  was  violating  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion, and  delivering  over  to  slavery  those  Exiles  who  were  claimed 
by  the  people  of  Florida,  instead  of  securing  them  in  their  lives  and 
property,  for  which  the  faith  of  the  nation  had  been  pledged,  he  be- 
came indignant,  and  insisted  that  every  Indian  and  Exile  who  was 
enjoying  his  liberty,  should  leave  the  encampment  where  they  were 
receiving  food  and  raiment  from  the  United  States,  and  flee  to  their 
own  homes.  Micanopy,  one  of  the  most  wealthy  and  influential 
chiefs,  refused,  and  expressed  his  determination  to  emigrate.  Wild 
Cat  and  Osceola  (Powell),  two  young  and  daring  chiefs,  came  to 
the  tent  of  Micanopy,  at  midnight,  and  compelled  him,  at  the  peril 
of  his  life,  to  leave  and  flee  to  the  Indian  country.  He  did  so, 
and  with  him  every  Indian  and  Exile,  who  was  outside  the  stock- 
ade at  Tampa  Bay,  made  their  escape. 

At  the  battle  of  Fort  Mellon,  on  the  eighth  of  February,  1837, 
he  is  said  to  have  commanded  two  hundred  warriors,  many  of  whom 
were  Exiles.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  "  Okechobee,"  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  December,  1837  ;  the  severest  battle  ever  fought  in  Florida. 
Nearly  all  his  warriors  were  with  him.  He  was  posted  on  the  left 
of  the  Indian  line,  occupying  the  hommock,  when  General  Taylor 
approached.  He  declared  that  not  an  Indian  gave  way  until  the 
charge  of  Colonel  Foster,  although  he  said  the  fire  of  our  men 
"  sent  a  stream  of  bullets  among  his  warriors."     He  stated  the 


292  THE    EXILES    OP    FLORIDA. 

whole  loss  of  the  allied  forces  in  that  memorable  conflict  to  be 
thirteen  killed  and  nineteen  wounded,  being  less  than  one-fourth  of 
General  Taylor's  loss. 

His  father  (King  Philip)  being  imprisoned  at  St.  Augustine  in 
1838,  naturally  felt  desirous  that  his  son  should  go  with  him  to  the 
Western  Country,  where  he  knew  he  must  emigrate.  He  sent  out 
a  confidential  friend  with  a  message  to  Wild  Cat,  inviting  him  to 
come  and  see  him.  General  Jessup  also  sent  assurances  of  his 
perfect  safety,  if  he  wished  to  come  and  visit  his  father.  The 
messenger  found  hira,  and  faithfully  delivered  the  message  which 
his  father  sent.  There  were  also  other  Indians  and  Exiles  going 
to  Fort  Peyton,  under  the  peaceful  invitation  and  assurance  of 
safety  which  General  Jessup  sent  them.  Wild  Cat  left  his  band ; 
and,  arrayed  in  his  best  robes,  bearing  a  white  flag,  went  with 
them  and  was  betrayed,  through  the  agency  of  General  Hernan- 
dez, into  the  power  of  General  Jessup,  as  we  have  heretofore 
shown.  He  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  at  St.  Augustine  with 
his  friend  Tahnas-Hadjo.  Accustomed  to  roam  in  the  forests  at 
will,  and  enjoy  the  free  air  of  Heaven,  this  confinement  bore  down 
their  spirits  and  affected  their  physical  health.  He  and  his  friend 
Talmas-Hadjo  made  their  escape,  an  account  of  which  was  given  in 
a  former  chapter. 

His  father  remained  with  the  other  prisoners  —  was  sent  to 
Charleston ;  and  subsequently  died  on  his  passage  to  Fort  Gibson 
in  1837,  with  the  first  party  of  emigrants  under  Lieut.  Reynolds. 

Wild  Cat  now  became  one  of  the  most  active  warriors  in  Flori- 
da. With  his  followers,  he  repaired  to  the  Okefenoke  Swamp,  and, 
encamping  in  its  fastnesses,  sallied  forth,  as  occasion  permitted,  and 
spread  death  and  devastation  in  the  southern  settlements  of  Georgia, 
From  thence  he  returned  south,  and  committed  constant  depredations 
both  east  and  west  of  the  St.  John's.  In  1840,  his  daughter,  an 
interesting  girl  of  twelve  years  of  age,  fell  into  the  hands  of  our 
troops,  in  a  skirmish  near  Fort  Mellon.  This  was  regarded  as  a 
most  fortunate  circumstance,  as  it  would  be  likely  to  procure  an  in- 


THE  EXILES   OP   FLORIDA.  293 

terview  with  the  father.  Micco,  a  sub-chief  and  friend  of  Wild 
Cat,  was  dispatched  with  a  white  flag,  on  which  were  drawn  clasped 
hands  in  token  of  friendship,  with  a  pipe  and  tobacco.  He  found 
Wild  Cat,  and  delivered  the  message  of  the  Commanding  General, 
requesting  an  interview.  Wild  Cat  agreed  to  come  in,  and  gave 
Micco  a  bundle  of  eight  sticks,  denoting  the  days  which  would 
elapse  before  he  appeared  in  camp.  Micco  returned,  and  made 
his  report. 

On  the  fifth  of  March,  Wild  Cat  was  announced  as  approaching 
the  American  camp  with  seven  of  his  trusty  companions.  He  came 
boldly  within  the  line  of  sentinels,  dressed  in  the  most  fantastic 
manner.  He  and  his  party  had  shortly  before  killed  a  company  of 
strolling  theatrical  performers,  near  St.  Augustine,  and,  having 
possessed  themselves  of  the  wardrobe  which  their  victims  had  with 
them,  he  now  decorated  himself  and  followers  in  the  most  grotesque 
style.  He  approached  the  tent  of  General  Worth,  calm  and  self- 
possessed,  and  shook  hands  with  the  oflficers.  He  addressed  the 
Commanding  General  in  fluent  and  dignified  language,  saying,  he 
had  received  the  talk  and  white  flag  sent  him ;  that,  in  pursuance 
of  the  invitation,  he  had  come  to  visit  the  American  camp  with 
peaceful  intentions ;  that,  relying  upon  the  good  faith  of  the  ofiicer 
in  command,  he  had  entrusted  himself  to  their  power,  in  order  to 
promote  the  designs  of  peace  which  had  been  tendered  him.  The 
dignity  of  his  manner,  the  gracefulness  of  his  gestures,  the  musical 
intonations  of  his  voice,  the  blandness  of  his  countenance,  won  the 
sympathy,  and  commanded  the  attention,  of  all  around  him. 

At  this  moment  his  little  daughter  escaped  from  the  tent,  where 
it  was  intended  she  should  remain  until  General  Worth  should  feel 
that  the  proper  time  had  arrived  for  him  to  present  her  to  her  father. 
With  the  feelings  and  habits  of  her  race,  she  presented  him  musket 
balls  and  powder,  which  she  had  by  some  means  obtained  and  se- 
creted until  his  arrival.  On  seeing  his  child,  he  could  no  longer 
command  that  dignity  of  bearing  so  much  the  pride  of  every  Indian 


294  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

chief.  His  self-possession  gave  way  to  parental  emotions ;  the  feel- 
ings of  the  father  gushed  forth ;  he  averted  his  face  and  wept. 

Having  recovered  his  self-possession,  he  addressed  Colonel 
Worth,  saying,  "The  whites  dealt  unjustly  by  me.  I  came  to 
"  them,  when  they  deceived  me.  I  loved  the  land  I  was  upon ; 
'*  my  body  is  made  of  its  sands.  The  Great  Spirit  gave  me  legs 
'*  to  walk  over  it;  eyes  to  see  it;  hands  to  aid  myself;  a  head  with 
*'  which  I  think.  The  sun,  which  shines  warm  and  bright,  brings 
**  forth  our  crops ;  and  the  moon  brings  back  the  spirits  of  our  war- 
**  riors,  our  fathers,  our  wives  and  children.  The  white  man  comes; 
**  he  grows  pale  and  sickly  ;  why  can  we  not  live  in  peace  ?  They 
'•  steal  our  horses  and  cattle,  cheat  us,  and  take  our  lands.  They 
**  may  shoot  us — may  chain  our  hands  and  feet ;  hut  the  red  man's 
"  heart  will  be  free.  I  have  come  to  you  in  peace,  and  have  taken 
**  you  all  by  the  hand.  I  will  sleep  in  your  camp,  though  your 
**  soldiers  stand  around  me  thick  as  pine  trees.  I  am  done  :  when 
"  we  know  each  other  better,  I  will  saj  more." 

General  Worth  assured  him  of  the  good  faith  with  which  he 
should  be  treated ;  that  the  feelings  which  he  had  expressed  were 
honorable  to  him  and  to  his  people ;  that  the  emotions  manifested 
on  seeing  his  child,  were  highly  creditable  to  him  as  a  father ;  as- 
sured him  that  his  child  should  not  be  separated  from  him ;  that 
the  American  oflficers  and  soldiers  highly  respected  the  parental 
affection  which  he  had  exhibited.  He  then  entered  upon  a  consul- 
tation with  him  concerning  the  best  mode  of  obtaining  a  peace. 

Wild  Cat  spoke  with  great  sincerity ;  frankly  stated  the  condition 
and  feelings  of  this  people  ;  stated  the  friendly  attachment  between 
the  Exiles  and  Indians ;  said  that  they  would  not  consent  to  be 
separated ;  that  nothing  could  be  done  until  their  annual  assem- 
blage in  June,  to  feast  on  the  green  com;  that,  hard  as  the  fate  was, 
he  would  consent  to  emigrate,  and  would  use  his  influence  to  induce 
his  friends  to  do  so. 

After  remaining  four  days  in  camp,  he  and  his  companions  left, 


THE   EXILES    OF   FLORIDA.  295 

accompanied  by  his  little  daughter,  whom  he  presented  to  her 
mother  on  reaching  his  own  encampment. 

Prompt  to  his  engagement  with  General  Worth,  he  returned  on 
the  tenth  day  after  his  departure.  He  stated  that  he  could  do 
nothing  until  June;  but  expressed  his  desire  to  see  General  Armi- 
stead,  the  former  commander,  who  was  yet  at  Tampa  Bay.  With 
that  officer  he  also  made  arrangements  to  do  whatever  was  in  his 
power  to  induce  his  friends  to  emigrate. 

There  appears  no  good  evidence  on  which  to  doubt  the  sincerity 
of  Wild  Cat ;  yet  it  appears  that  General  Armistead,  before  leaving 
Florida,  ordered  Colonel  Childs,  commanding  at  Fort  Pearce,  to 
seize  Wild  Cat,  if  he  should  come  within  his  power,  with  such  fol- 
lowers as  should  attend  him,  and  send  them  to  Tampa  Bay  for 
emigration.  General  Armistead  retired  to  Washington  soon  after 
issuing  this  order,  leaving  General  Worth  in  command. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  May,  Wild  Cat  and  his  brother,  together 
with  an  uncle,  a  brother  of  his  father  King  Philip,  and  twelve 
other  Indians  and  three  Exiles,  came  into  Fort  Pearce,  where 
Colonel  Childs  was  in  command.  Wild  Cat  and  his  friends  had 
reposed  perfect  confidence  in  the  honor  and  good  faith  of  General 
Worth.  He  had  been  betrayed  by  General  Hernandez,  acting 
under  General  Jessup's  orders ;  had  been  imprisoned,  and  suffered 
much  ;  but  from  the  manner  and  bearing  of  General  Worth,  he  had 
been  led  to  repose  the  most  implicit  confidence  in  his  sincerity. 
Colonel  Childs,  however,  punctilious  in  his  obedience  to  orders,  at 
once  seized  and  sent  him  and  his  companions  in  irons  to  Tampa 
Bay,  where  they  were  immediately  placed  on  board  a  transport  and 
sent  to  New  Orleans,  en  route  for  Fort  Gibson.  The  people  of 
Florida  heartily  approved  this  transaction,  feeling  that  the  Territory 
was  now  rid  of  one  of  its  most  dangerous  foes. 

General  Worth  soon  learned  the  manner  in  which  Wild  Cat  had 
been  again  seized  as  a  prisoner,  in  violation  of  the  pledged  faith  of 
Government.  Mortified  and  chagrined,  he  at  once  dispatched  a 
faithful  officer,  with  explicit  directions,  to  bring  Wild  Cat  and  his 


296  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

friends  back  to  Florida  at  the  earliest  moment  at  which  he  should 
be  able.  The  officer  found  them  at  New  Orleans,  and  forthwith 
started  with  them  on  his  return  to  Tampa  Bay. 

This  measure  of  General  Worth,  though  bold,  and  in  direct  op- 
position to  the  popular  sentiment  of  Florida,  probably  tended  as 
much  to  the  pacification  of  that  Territory  as  any  movement  during 
the  war. 

General  Worth  set  out  to  meet  the  distinguished  chief,  and 
reached  Tampa  Bay  on  the  third  of  July.  The  next  day  he  went 
on  board  the  ship,  where  he  met  Wild  Cat  and  his  companions ; 
they  were  yet  in  irons.  As  they  met  upon  the  deck,  the  General 
took  him  cordially  by  the  hand ;  assured  him  of  his  sincere  friend- 
ship ;  of  the  mistake  by  which  he  had  been  arrested ;  but  assured 
him,  that  so  great  was  his  renown  as  a  warrior,  and  such  were  the 
fears  which  the  people  entertained  of  him,  that,  as  commanding 
General,  he  was  constrained  to  hold  him  a  prisoner. 

Perhaps  nothing  so  touches  the  vanity  of  a  savage  as  an  expres- 
sion of  his  greatness ;  and  the  consummate  policy  of  General  Worth 
was  never  more  apparent  than  in  the  manner  of  his  treating  this 
savage  chief.  After  recounting  the  devastation  and  death  which 
Wild  Cat  had  scattered  throughout  the  Territory,  he  told  him,  with 
great  emphasis,  that  he  had  the  power  to  put  an  end  to  the  war. 
He  then  told  him  he  was  at  liberty  to  select  five  of  his  most  trusty 
friends,  and  send  them  to  his  band  with  such  a  message  as  would 
inform  them  of  the  precise  state  of  facts,  to  name  the  time  necessary 
to  gather  his  band,  and  have  them  at  Fort  Brooke ;  that,  if  they 
failed  to  come  in  at  the  appointed  time,  he  and  his  followers,  who 
should  remain  with  him,  should  be  hanged. 

Wild  Cat  listened  with  emotion ;  most  of  his  followers  wept. 
After  General  Worth  had  closed  his  remarks,  he  arose,  and,  with 
great  force  of  eloquence  and  truth,  portrayed  the  wrongs  to  which 
he  and  his  friends  had  been  subjected.  He  then  added,  that  they 
had  fought  the  white  people  bravely,  had  killed  many,  but  they 
were  too  numerous  and  too  strong  for  them  to  contend  with ;  that 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


297 


they  were  compelled  to  submit.  Then,  in  conclusion,  he  said  he 
would  send  out  his  friends-,  and  do  what  ho  could  to  induce  his 
band  to  surrender,  for  emigration. 

While  he  was  speaking,  the  hour  of  twelve  arrived,  and  an  armed 
ship  lying  in  port,  opened  her  ports  and  commenced  firing  a  national 
salute,  in  honor  of  the  day.  Wild  Cat  stopped,  and,  turning  to 
General  Worth,  inquired  the  cause.  It  was  explained  to  him,  and 
he  readily  contrasted  his  own  situation  and  that  of  his  friends,  who 
were  sitting  around  him  in  irons,  with  the  condition  of  the  freemen 
to  whom  they  were  prisoners. 

After  he  had  concluded  his  remarks,  he  gathered  around  him  his 
friends,  and,  having  consulted  with  them,  he  selected  his  five  mes- 
sengers, one  of  whom  was  taken  from  the  Exiles,  and  the  other  four 
from  the  Indians.  The  five  messengers  were  brought  together,  and 
he  addressed  them  in  their  own  language,  apparently  with  deep 
emotion ;  but  when  he  came  to  inform  them  of  the  message  they 
were  to  deliver  to  his  wife  and  child,  the  feelings  of  the  husband 
and  father  again  overpowered  him  :  he  turned  aside  and  wept ;  and 
such  was  the  deep  and  thrilling  interest  which  pervaded  those  around 
him,  that  the  hardy  sailors  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  danger, 
and  the  soldier  who  had  become  familiar  with  death  in  its  various 
forms,  were  melted  to  tears.  The  sympathy  became  general ;  and 
all  present  seemed  to  acknowledge  the  reality  of  those  holy  affec- 
tions of  the  human  heart  which  God  has  implanted  deep  down  in 
its  core  and  center.  Silence  pervaded  the  whole  assemblage.  The 
order  was  given  by  General  Worth  in  a  low  and  solemn  voice  to 
remove  the  fetters  from  the  limbs  of  the  five  messengers.  It  was 
done  quietly,  and  all  looked  on  with  interest.  After  the  irons  had 
been  taken  from  their  limbs,  and  all  was  prepared  for  their  depart- 
ure, Wild  Cat  shook  hands  with  each  as  they  passed  over  the  side  • 
of  the  ship.  To  the  last  he  handed  a  silk  handkerchief  and  a 
breast-pin,  saying,  **  give  them  to  my  wife  and  child." 

The  time  which  Wild  Cat  had  voluntarily  set  for  their  return, 
was  forty  days.     The  band  was  supposed  to  be  on  the  Kissimee  or 


298  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

St.  John's  River ;  and  much  interest  was  felt  by  all  in  the  result. 
They  greatly  feared  that  delay  might  take  place  in  finding  and 
communicating  with  them.  Officers  and  soldiers  participated  in  the 
excitement ;  and  the  messengers  were  instructed  by  them  to  inform 
the  commanding  officer  at  that  post,  if  any  great  delay  should 
occur. 

The  success  of  this  mission  was  regarded  as  the  turning  point  of 
the  Florida  War,  and  in  its  perfect  success  all  felt  a  deep  interest; 
as  it  was  believed  that  his  example  would  be  followed  by  other 
chiefs  of  sufficient  influence  to  bring  this  long  protracted  war  to  a 
close. 

The  officers  visited  Wild  Cat  and  his  friends,  on  board  the  ship, 
daily,  and  endeavored  to  cheer  them  by  constantly  expressing  their 
confidence  in  the  fidelity  of  the  messengers.  He  endeavored  to 
surmount  the  anxiety  and  apprehension  which  his  situation  naturally 
brought  to  his  mind ;  but  his  care-worn  countenance  and  anxious 
manner  showed  the  corroding  solicitude  which  he  felt. 

"  Old  Micco,"  the  Indian  chief  who  at  first  induced  Wild  Cat  to 
come  in  to  Fort  Cummings,  was  at  Tampa  Bay  at  the  time  the 
messengers  left.  He  was  aged,  but  continued  active.  He  had 
been  the  confidential  friend  of  King  Philip,  the  father  of  Wild 
Cat,  and  was  now  the  warm  friend  of  the  son.  He  volunteered  to 
accompany  the  messengers,  assuring  Wild  Cat  that  he  would  him- 
self return  in  ten  days  with  such  tidings  as  he  should  be  able  to 
gather  in  that  time. 

The  old  man,  faithful  to  his  engagement,  on  the  tenth  day  ap- 
peared at  Tampa  Bay  with  six  warriors  and  a  number  of  women 
and  children,  and  reported  that  others  were  on  their  way.  The 
return  of  Micco  with  such  intelligence  cheered  his  followers  and 
friends,  and  gave  to  our  officers  and  soldiers  confidence  in  the  entire 
success  of  the  plan ;  but  the  chief  continued  to  exhibit  gloom,  and 
at  times  he  evinced  despondency  of  spirits. 

In  the  meantime,  his  people  continued  to  arrive  daily,  and  in 
less  than  thirty  days,  his  entire  band  were  encamped  at  Tampa 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  299 

Bay.  He  had  informed  General  Worth  of  the  precise  number  of 
his  warriors  by  delivering  to  him  a  bundle  containing  one  stick  for 
each  warrior.  On  the  last  day  of  July,  it  was  found  that  the  num- 
ber of  warriors,  including  Exiles,  exactly  corresponded  with  the 
number  of  sticks. 

When  informed  that  his  warriors  were  all  in,  he  resumed  his 
natural  cheerfulness  ;  his  countenance  became  lighted  up  with  hope 
and  intelligence  ;  his  bearing  was  lofty  and  independent.  Several 
officers  went  on  board  to  congratulate  him.  He  was  warmly  greeted. 
He  now,  turning  to  the  officer  of  the  guard,  in  a  tone  of  confident 
assurance,  requested  that  his  irons  might  be  removed,  and  he  per- 
mitted to  address  his  warriors,  as  he  said,  "like  a  man."  His 
shackles  were  taken  off;  and  he  then  dressed  himself  in  a  manner 
which  he  deemed  fitting  the  occasion.  His  turban  was  of  crimson 
silk,  from  which  three  ostrich  plumes  were  gracefully  suspended ; 
his  breast  was  covered  with  glittering  silver  ornaments ;  his  many- 
colored  frock  was  fastened  around  his  waist  by  a  girdle  of  red  silk, 
into  which  was  thrust  his  scalping  knife,  -enclosed  in  its  appropriate 
scabbard.  Red  leggins  and  ornamented  moccasins  completed  his 
attire.  He  was  attended  on  shore  by  several  officers,  who  took 
seats  with  him  in  the  boat.  As  they  approached  the  shore,  and 
he  saw  his  friends  who  had  gathered  at  the  landing  to  greet  him, 
his  heart  seemed  to  swell  with  emotion ;  but  gathering  himself  for 
the  occasion  he  became  dignified  and  haughty  in  his  deportment, 
and  as  he  stepped  on  shore  he  waived  his  hand,  beckoning  them  all 
to  stand  back.  They  impulsively  obeyed  ;  and  raising  his  form  to 
its  utmost  height  he  sent  forth  a  shrill  war-whoop,  which  reached 
every  ear  in  the  vicinity,  as  the  announcement  of  his  freedom.  A 
hearty  response  at  once  came  back  from  every  warrior  of  the  band. 
The  crowd  simultaneously  opened  to  the  right  and  left,  when,  with- 
out noticing  the  presence  of  any  person,  he  at  once  proceeded  to 
the  head-quarters,  where  he  met  General  Worth,  whom  he  saluted 
in  the  most  respectful  manner.  He  then  turned  to  his  people  and 
addressed   them,   stating   the  arrangement  with   General   Worth, 


800  THE   EXILES  OP   FLORIDA. 

thanking  them  for  so  cheerfully  coming  to  him,  declared  they  were 
now  at  peace  with  the  white  people.  He  then  inquired  for  his  wife 
and  child,  who  had  remained  silent  spectators  of  the  whole  scene. 
They  at  once  came  forward,  and  as  he  saw  them,  the  feelings  of  the 
husband  and  father  again  overcame  him  for  an  instant ;  but  resum- 
ing his  lofty  demeanor  he  mingled  again  with  those  faithful  and 
tried  followers,  who  had  so  often  stood  beside  him  in  times  of  peril. 

Such  were  the  fortunes,  and  such  the  character,  of  one  of  those 
chieftains  whom  the  incidents  of  the  Florida  War  brought  into  pub- 
lic notice.  He  is  now  introduced  to  the  reader,  and  will  continue 
to  receive  occasional  attention  until  the  close  of  our  narrative,  and 
perhaps  he  may  again  appear  in  the  future  history  of  the  people  to 
whose  trials  and  persecutions  we  are  now  directing  attention. 

We  have  felt  this  sketch  due  to  the  cause  of  truth,  inasmuch  as 
during  the  war,  and  even  up  to  the  present  day,  public  newspapers 
have  spoken  of  Wild  Cat  as  a  cruel  and  vindictive  savage.  His 
efforts  in  behalf  of  freedom  have  been  represented  by  public  officers 
as  crimes,  and  he  has  been  held  up  to  the  public  as  an  unprincipled 
brigand.     We  would  judge  him,  as  we  would  all  others,  by  his  acts. 

Wild  Cat's  band,  now  convened  at  Tampa  Bay,  had  been  previ- 
ously diminished  by  emigration.  It  now  numbered  seventy-eight 
warriors,  sixty-four  women  and  forty-seven  children  —  making  in  all 
one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  souls.  We  have  no  official  statement 
of  the  number  of  Exiles  who  surrendered  with  this  band.  We 
suppose,  however,  from  the  warm  interest  which  Wild  Cat  always 
took  in  behalf  of  the  Exiles,  that  more  would  have  flocked  to  his 
standard  than  to  those  of  other  chiefs ;  but  we  have  no  evidence 
that  such  was  the  fact.  Probably  the  Exiles  constituted  about  one- 
sixth  of  the  band  —  that  being  the  proportion  of  Exiles  who  ac- 
companied him  to  Fort  Cummings,  and  were  seized  with  him  by 
Colonel  Childs.  Indeed,  we  have  had  no  official  data  by  which  to 
determine  the  proportion  of  Exiles  who  constituted  the  several  par- 
ties that  surrendered  after  General  Jessup  left  the  army.  No  sub- 
sequent commander  in  Florida  appears  to  have  drawn  distinctions  as 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  301 

to  the  color  of  his  prisoners.  They  were  all  reported  as  Seminoles, 
and  the  term  "negro"  occurred  only  incidentally  in  their  official 
reports,  when  speaking  of  the  class  of  interpreters  and  agents  who 
were  employed  ;  nor  do  we  find  that  General  Worth  made  any 
eflfort  to  send  any  of  his  prisoners  into  slavery.  So  far  as  we  are 
informed,  like  General  Taylor,  he  treated  them  all  as  prisoners  of 
ivar,  entitled  to  the  same  rights,  the  same  respect,  and  the  same 
attentions,  agreeably  to  the  doctrine  advanced  by  General  Gaines 
at  New  Orleans. 

General  Worth  appears  to  have  felt  authorized  to  send  every 
Exile  who  surrendered,  to  the  Western  Country.  If  any  of  them 
were  claimed  by  the  slaveholders  of  Florida,  he  directed  the  proofs 
of  ownership  to  be  taken  and  the  value  of  the  negro  estimated, 
and  then,  without  waiting  for  further  contest,  the  negro  was  treated 
as  other  prisoners,  and  sent  West  with  his  Seminole  friends, 
leaving  the  Government  to  pay  for  the  slave  or  not,  as  the  Execu- 
tive and  Congress  should  determine.^ 

It  was  this  policy  which  enabled  General  Worth  to  conduct  the 
war  with  so  much  greater  success  than  his  predecessors.  It  enabled 
him  to  avail  himself  of  all  the  influence  of  Wild  Cat,  now  exerted 
in  favor  of  emigration ;  while  General  Jessup,  by  delivering  over 
the  Exiles  to  slavery,  had  induced  the  same  chief  to  exert  absolute 
violence  to  prevent  emigration.^ 

General  Worth,  having  secured  the  friendship  and  cooperation 

(1)  This  statement  is  founded  upon  the  authority  of  Captain  Sprague.  It  is  however 
certain,  that  many  of  the  claimants  actually  received  compensation  from  the  public  treas- 
ury for  the  loss  of  their  slaves.  The  power  to  pay  for  them  was  assumed  by  Executive 
officers,  under  the  appropriation  act  of  March,  1841,  without  reference  to  Congress. 

(2)  Captain  Sprague,  in  his  history,  enters  into  a  somewhat  lengthened  apology  for  this 
practice  of  General  Worth,  by  saying,  the  negroes  were  the  most  active  and  vindictive  of 
the  hostile  forces  ;  that,  from  the  peculiar  situation  of  the  country,  ten  negroes  could  keep 
it  in  a  state  of  constant  alarm  ;  that  many  of  them  had  intermarried  with  the  Seminoles 
and  become  identified  with  them,  had  acquired  their  habits,  and  would  have  been  useless 
to  their  owners  had  they  been  delivered  to  them ;  that  the  negro  would  have  remained  in 
service  but  a  few  days,  when  he  would  have  again  taken  to  the  swamps  and  hommocks, 
where  he  could  elude  pursuit,  and  would  have  been  more  vindictive  than  before. 


302  THE   EXILES  OP   FLORIDA. 

of  Wild  Cat,  entered  into  consultation  with  him  as  to  the  best 
method  of  carrying  out  his  plan  of  peaceful  surrender  of  the  Indians 
and  Exiles,  and  their  emigration  West.  Those  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Territory,  under  Hospetarche  and  Tiger-tail  and  Sam  Jones, 
were  bitterly  opposed  to  emigration.  They  determined,  in  council, 
to  kill  any  messenger  sent  to  them  for  the  purpose  of  persuading 
them  to  surrender,  or  any  one  who  should  attempt  to  leave  them  for 
the  purposes  of  emigration. 

Notwithstanding  this  determination,  some  three  or  four  families, 
numbering  in  all  about  twenty  souls,  made  their  escape  (Aug.  10), 
and,  though  closely  pursued,  reached  the  military  post  on  Pease 
Creek,  and  were  sent  to  Tampa  Bay,  where  they  joined  Wild  Cat's 
band.  Otulke,  a  brother  of  Wild  Cat,  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  those 
people  who  had  become  so  indignant,  and  it  was  deemed  important 
to  inform  him  of  Wild  Cat's  determination  to  go  West.  The  chief 
had  also  a  younger  brother,  now  with  the  band  at  Tampa  Bay,  who 
volunteered  to  perform  the  hazardous  duty  of  carrying  a  message  to 
Otulke.  Much  solicitude  wa.s  felt  for  his  safety,  but  he  accom- 
plished his  mission  successfully.  Otulke,  with  some  six  warriors 
and  their  families,  obeyed  the  call,  and  came  to  Tampa  Bay  and 
joined  the  party  destined  for  emigration. 

Otulke  also  brought  a  message  from  Hospetarche,  an  aged  chief, 
the  head  of  a  small  band  numbering  nearly  one  hundred  souls.  He 
was  said  to  be  eighty-five  years  of  age ;  but  was  yet  active,  and 
possessed  great  energy.  He  sent  a  message  to  Wild  Cat  that  he, 
too,  was  coming  in  to  see  him.  He  was  from  the  *'  Great  Cypress 
Swamp,"  whose  inhabitants  were  regarded  as  very  treacherous,  and 
altogether  destitute  of  integrity. 

A  few  days  after  Otulke  arrived,  Hospetarche  sent  a  boy  with  a 
white  flag  to  Tampa  Bay,  saying,  he  was  old  and  fatigued,  and 
wanted  whisky  and  provisions  to  enable  him  to  reach  Fort  Brooke. 
These  were  sent  him ;  but  the  next  day  another  message  of  the 
same  character  was  received,  and  complied  with.  This  practice 
continued  for  five  days.     And  such  was  the  desperate  character  of 


•       THE  EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  303 

the  old  chief,  that  none  of  the  friendly  Indians  dared  go  out  to 
meet  him,  particularly  as  they  learned  that  he  was  attended  only 
by  warriors ;  they  believed  he  was  intent  on  hostility  rather  than 
peace,  and  they  feared  him. 

Wild  Cat  had  been  absent  for  some  days.  When  he  returned, 
he  ascertained  the  situation  of  Ilospetarche,  with  whom  he  had  long 
been  acquainted.  The  next  morning  he  dressed  himself  in  his 
gayest  attire,  and,  taking  his  rifle,  mounted  his  favorite  horse, 
which  had  been  brought  to  Tampa  Bay  by  his  followers. 

The  officers  who  witnessed  his  departure,  declared  that  the  noble 
animal  exhibited  evidence  of  having  recognized  his  master.  No 
sooner  had  Wild  Cat  mounted,  than  he  began  to  champ  his  bit  and 
paw  the  earth,  as  if  impatient  to  bear  forth  his  rider  to  the  hunting 
grounds.  Wild  Cat,  sitting  upon  his  spirited  horse,  shook  hands 
with  General  Worth  and  the  other  officers,  and  then  dashed  into 
the  forest ;  and  before  sunset,  returned  with  his  venerable  friend, 
Hospetarche,  and  eighteen  warriors. 

After  they  arrived,  they  were  treated  kindly,  but  placed  under 
a  strong  guard.  They  sent  confidential  friends  however  to  their 
homes,  who  in  a  few  days  returned,  bringing  with  them  the  women 
and  children  of  the  whole  band.  There  were  now  at  Tampa  Bay 
nearly  three  hundred  prisoners  ready  for  emigration,  including 
Exiles,  supposed  to  be  about  sixty  in  number. 

While  General  Worth  was  thus  successful  in  his  efforts  to  induce 
the  Indians  and  their  allies  peacefully  to  emigrate,  he  was  pained 
to  witness  the  suffiirings  to  which  his  army  were  subjected.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  sacrifice  which  our  nation  made  in  this  effort  to 
enslave  the  Exiles,  we  would  state,  that  the  1st  regiment  of  Infant- 
ry, under  Colonel  Miller,  came  to  Florida  in  1838,  and  left  in 
August,  1841.  It  numbered  some  six  hundred  men,  and  during 
the  three  years  of  its  residence  in  Florida,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  soldiers  and  six  commissioned  officers  died  of  sicknes.  This 
we  believe  to  be  nothing  more  than  the  average  loss  of  the  troops 
who  served  in  that  war,  in  proportion  to  the  time  of  service.     The 


304  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

ofl&cial  reports  for  July,  1841,  showed  two  thousand  four  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  men  on  the  sick  list,  unfit  for  duty,  being  consid- 
erably more  than  one  half  of  the  whole  army. 

A  few  Indians  and  Exiles,  from  various  bands,  occasionally  ar- 
rived at  Tampa  Bay,  and  joined  the  emigrating  party.  Throughout 
the  different  families,  they  appeared  to  believe  that  General  Worth 
was  acting  in  good  faith.  The  whole  character  of  the  war  had 
undergone  a  change.  It  had  originally  been  commenced  and  pros- 
ecuted for  the  purpose  of  reenslaving  Exiles :  now  that  object,  so 
far  as  they  could  discover,  appeared  to  have  been  given  up.  Exiles 
and  Indians  were  treated  alike.  Wild  Cat,  their  most  active  and 
popular  chief,  and  the  leading  Exiles  with  him,  were  acting  with 
sincerity  in  favor  of  emigration.  The  war  was  in  fact  suspended, 
for  the  adoption  of  a  more  pacific  policy,  which  seemed  to  promise 
success. 

Tiger-tail  was  yet  inexorable  and  inveterato.  He  was  said  to 
have  murdered  his  own  sister  for  proposing  to  surrender ;  yet  a 
small  party  from  his  band  escaped  to  Tampa  Bay,  and  were  pro- 
tected. A  few  other  Indians  and  Exiles  wore  captured  without 
bloodshed ;  and  such  were  the  prospects  of  returning  peace,  that 
by  the  commencement  of  September,  General  Worth  informed  the 
War  Department  that  the  3d  regiment  of  Artillery  could  be  spared 
from  the  service  in  Florida ;  and  that  he  hoped,  within  a  month,  to 
discharge  the  4th  and  5th  Infantry,  and  the  3d  Dragoons. 

Wild  Cat  visited  Tiger-tail  in  his  retreat,  which  was  regarded  as 
a  most  hazardous  undertaking.  With  six  followers  he  started  on  a 
visit  to  this  barbarous  chief.  He  reached  the  vicinity  of  his  camp 
near  nightfall,  but  deemed  it  prudent  not  to  approach  at  that  late 
hour  of  the  day.  He  and  his  friends  fearing  discovery,  bivouacked 
in  a  grove,  supposing  they  had  not  been  noticed  by  any  one.  In 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  they  heard  slight  movements  near  them. 
Wild  Cat  suspected  it  was  the  wary  chief,  preparing  to  massacre 
himself  and  friends.  He  boldly  called  out,  announcing  his  own 
name,  and  telling  Tiger-tail  not  to  come  upon  him  like  a  coward, 


Thlocklo  Tustenuggee,  (Tiger  Tail.) 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  305 

by  stealth,  but  to  speak  frankly,  or  come  up  boldly  to  a  personal 
conflict.  Tiger-tail,  surprised  and  astonished  at  this  course,  com- 
menced conversation.  Wild  Cat,  referring  to  their  former  friend- 
ship, avowed  his  desire  to  renew  the  attachment ;  or,  if  Tiger-tail 
insisted  on  fighting,  then  he  would  meet  him  in  a  manner  becoming 
a  bold  warrior.  The  ferocity  of  Tiger-tail  gave  way.  They  agreed 
to  meet  next  day,  when  a  long  consultation  was  held.  The  savage 
chief  gave  assurances  of  his  peaceful  disposition,  and  promised  to 
reflect  upon  the  propriety  of  emigrating.  'Wild  Cat  also  sent  to 
other  chiefs  messages,  assuring  them  of  his  intention  to  emigrate ; 
that  his  band,  and  that  of  Hospetarche,  with  individuals  from  other 
villages,  were  at  Tampa  Bay  with  the  intention  of  soon  embarking 
for  the  Western  Country. 

Tiger-tail  insisted  on  seeing  Alligator,  a  Seminole  chief,  who 
emigrated  in  1837,  saying,  if  Alligator  would  come  back  and 
advise  him  to  go  West,  he  would  comply  with  such  advice.  A 
messenger  was  accordingly  sent  West  to  bring  Alligator  to  Florida. 

In  the  meantime.  Wild  Cat  declared  to  General  Worth  that  he 
desired  to  see  his  own  people  on  their  way ;  and  assigned  as  the 
reason  for  such  desire,  that  Indians  were  a  restless  people,  and 
could  not  be  long  kept  inactive,  with  no  employment  for  either 
body  or  mind.  The  advice  was  received  by  General  Worth  with 
respect,  and  he  at  once  gave  orders  to  prepare  for  the  journey. 
Transports  had  been  employed,  and  were  then  in  waiting.  The 
women  and  children  were  engaged  in  cracking  corn,  to  serve  as 
food  for  their  journey.  Amid  all  the  cares  which  surrounded  him, 
General  Worth  endeavored  to  make  both  Indians  and  Exiles  com- 
fortable, and  render  them  cheerful.  They  were  a  wronged  and 
persecuted  people,  about  to  leave  their  homes,  their  native  country, 
and  go  to  a  distant  region,  of  which  they  were  ignorant.  Driven 
from  the  graves  of  their  fathers,  they  were  about  to  be  separated 
from  scenes  which  had  been  familiar  to  them  from  childhood. 

Of  those  who  had  come  in  for  emigration,  fifteen  had  died.  Wild 
Cat  detailed  from  his  band  seven,  and  Hospetarche  detailed  ten  war- 
20 


30b  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

riors,  who,  with  their  families,  making  some  eighty  souls  in  all,  were 
to  remain  with  General  Worth  for  a  while  in  order  to  exert  what 
influence  they  could  with  their  friends  in  favor  of  emigrating  to  the 
West.  The  number  who  actually  embarked  was  little  more  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  exclusive  of  fourteen  Mickasukies,  who  per- 
sisted in  drawing  their  rations,  and  in  all  things  being  separated 
from  the  others.  Some  fifty  Exiles  are  supposed  to  have  been 
amons:  those  who  embarked,  and  two  of  the  seventeen  families  who 
remained  at  Tampa  Bay  were  of  mixed  blood.  The  emigrants  were 
all  on  board  the  transports,  when  General  Worth  and  staflf  paid 
them  a  last  visit.  The  scene  was  said  to  be  affecting.  Hospetarche, 
Tenerable  for  his  years,  sat  in  silence,  resting  his  head  upon  his 
hands,  and  looking  back  upon  his  native  land.  He  appeared  dis- 
qualified for  holding  conversation  with  any  one,  and  none  appeared 
willing  to  disturb  his  seeming  melancholy  reflections.  The  women 
— both  Exiles  and  Indians — were  weeping  and  sighing,  unre- 
strained by  that  dignity  so  much  cultivated  by  savages  of  the  other 
sex.  The  warriors — black  and  red  —  were  solemn  and  silent. 
This  appeared  to  give  Wild  Cat  pain.  He  stood  upon  the  quarter 
deck  with  his  sub-chiefs  around  him.  As  General  Worth  was 
about  to  take  leave,  "  I  am  looking  (said  Wild  Cat)  at  the  last 
**  pine  tree  of  my  native  land.  I  am  about  to  leave  Florida  for 
**  ever;  and  I  can  say  that  I  have  never  done  anything  to  disgrace 
*'  the  land  of  my  birth.  It  was  my  home  :  I  loved  it  as  I  loved 
"  my  wife  and  child.  To  part  from  it,  is  like  separating  from  my 
•'  own  kindred.  But  I  have  thrown  away  the  rifle  ;  I  have  shaken 
"hands  with  the  white  man,  and  I  look  to  him  for  protection." 
He  then  addressed  General  Worth,  thanked  him  for  all  his  kind- 
ness and  confidence ;  and  on  behalf  of  his  people  he  expressed  a 
high  sense  of  gatitude  for  the  humanity  and  friendship  extended  to 
them.  Then  extending  his  hand  to  the  General  he  bade  him  fare- 
well. General  Worth,  in  taking  leave,  expressed  the  hope  that 
they  would  have  a  pleasant  journey,  and  find  themselves  happy  in 
their  western  homes.     They  parted ;  the  anchor  was  hauled  up, 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  307 

the  sails  hoisted ;  and  the  unhappy  emigrants  soon  cast  their  last 
lingering  look  upon  the  long-loved  scenes  of  their  childhood. 

They  were  hurried  on  their  way  as  rapidly  as  wind  and  steam 
could  propel  the  ships  in  which  they  embarked.  They  made  a 
short  stay  at  New  Orleans ;  and  in  two  weeks  from  the  time  they 
left  Tampa  Bay,  they  landed  at  Fort  Gibson,  and  were  conducted 
to  the  settlement  made  by  their  brethren  who  had  previously  emi- 
grated. Here  Wild  Cat  found  himself  in  a  new  sphere.  Respected 
and  beloved  by  his  followers  for  his  gallant  bearing ;  his  undoubted 
courage ;  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his  people ;  his  truth  and 
justice — distinguished  above  all  others  of  his  tribe  by  his  warlike 
exploits,  he  was  qualified  and  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  trying 
scenes  which  awaited  his  future  life. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


CLOSE  OP  THE  WAR. 

Delegation  from  Emigrants  return  to  Florida  —  Their  efforts  in  favor  of  Peace  —  Pacific 
indications  —  Troops  discharged  —  Indians  and  Negroes  surrender  —  Foray  of  Captain 
Wade  —  Waxe  Hadjo  surrenders  —  Massacre  at  Mandarin  —  People  of  Georgia  and  Flori- 
da dissatisfied  with  GeneraMVorth  —  They  insist  on  furnishing  Troops  — Gen.  Worth 
refuses  to  employ  Militia  —  General  McDonald  and  Volunteers  from  Georgia  take  the 
field  —  Demand  the  withdrawal  of  the  Regular  Troops  —  They  are  withdrawn  —  Call  for 
Provisions  —  General  Worth  refuses  to  furnish  them  —  Militia  disband  —  Tustenuggee 
Chapco  surrenders  —  More  Troops  discharged  —  General  Worth  states  the  number  of 
Enemy,  and  recommends  cessation  of  Hostilities  —  Propositions  rejected  by  Executive  — 
Battle  with  Halec  Tustenuggee  —  Tlis  character  —  His  capture  —  Ho  and  his  people  sent 
West  —  President  reconsiders  General  Worth's  advice  —  Adopts  the  proposed  policy  — 
General  Worth  calls  Council  —  Terms  of  Peace  agreed  upon  —  GSeneral  Order  —  General 
Worth  retires  —  War  ended  —  Its  object  —  Its  cost  —  Number  of  lives  sacrificed  —  Char- 
acter  of  Indians  and  Exiles  who  remained  in  Florida, 

On  the  fourteenth  of  October,  Alligator,  with  two  other  chiefs, 
and  one  of  the  leading  Exiles,  named  James,  reached  Fort 
Brooke,  on  their  return  from  the  Western  Country.  They 
came  at  the  request  of  General  Worth  to  exert  their  influence  with 
Tiger-tail  and  others  in  favor  of  emigration.  The  next  day  they 
left  for  the  interior,  and  after  an  absence  of  seven  days  returned 
with  Tiger-tail.  The  General  held  several  conversations  with  him, 
and  kindly  expressed  his  sympathy  for  the  Indians,  explaining  his 
own  situation  and  duty,  and  advising  the  Indians  to  emigrate  as 
their  best  policy.  Tiger-tail,  after  remaining  in  camp  four  days, 
returned  for  his  band ;  and  friendly  Indians  were  dispatched  by 

(808) 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  309 

General  Worth  to  Sam  Jones  and  other  chiefs  to  induce  them  also 
to  come  in.  Some  thirty  Indians  deserted  Halec  Tustenuggee 
(Nov.  10),  and  came  to  Fort  Brooke.  The  appearance  of  Indians 
and  Exiles  was  so  pacific  that  the  Commanding  General  discharged 
from  further  service  in  Florida  five  companies  of  dragoons,  who 
were  ordered  to  the  western  frontier.  The  Indians  and  Exiles  who 
remained  at  Fort  Brooke  when  Wild  Cat  and  his  party  left  for  the 
West,  were  active  in  their  endeavors  to  induce  their  other  friends 
to  emigrate.  In  these  efforts  they  were  at  least  partially  successful. 
Small  parties  from  the  bands  of  Tiger-tail  and  Nethloke-Mathla 
arrived  occasionally,  and  with  the  apparent  consent  of  those  chiefs ; 
but  Tiger  tail  himself  appeared  suspicious  and  wary.  He  would 
not  come  in  then,  but  promised  to  do  so  at  some  future  day.  The 
influence  of  most  of  the  Exiles  now  remaining  in  Florida  was  ex- 
erted in  favor  of  emigration.  It  is  believed  that  nearly  every  fam- 
ily of  pure  Exile  blood  had  left ;  that  the  last  of  that  class  had 
departed  with  Wild  Cat.  particularly  all  of  the  descendants  of  those 
pioneers  who  remained  unconnected  with  the  Indians  by  marriage. 
There  were  yet  remaining  a  few  who  had  more  recently  fled  from 
their  masters  in  Florida  and  Georgia.  They  dared  not  trust  them- 
selves within  the  power  of  our  troops,  lest  they  should  be  recon- 
signed  to  slavery.  They  exerted  a  strong  influence  with  the  In- 
dians against  emigration.  There  were  also,  in  almost  every  band 
and  small  village  of  Indians,  Exiles  who  had  intermarried  with  In- 
dian families.  They  could  not  well  separate  from  their  family  con- 
nexions, and  therefore  refused  to  surrender  for  emigration,  until 
those  relatives  would  go  with  them.  By  the  twentieth  of  Novem- 
ber, fifty-two  warriors  and  a  hundred  and  ten  women  and  children 
—  making  in  all  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  people — were  gathered 
from  the  bands  of  Tiger-tail  and  Nethloke-Mathla ;  some  thirty  of 
whom  were  Exiles,  intermarried  with  the  Indians  and  half-breeds. 
Captain  Wade  made  a  foray  into  the  Indian  Country,  and  cap- 
tured some  sixty-five  Indians  and  Exiles  of  two  different  bands,  by 
surprise,  and  without  bloodshed.     They  were  mostly  women  and 


810  THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

children,  and  were  at  once  sent  forward  to  Tampa  Bay  for  emi- 
gration. 

About  the  close  of  November,  "  Waxe-Hadjo,"  a  young  chief 
from  the  Cypress  Swamp,  with  seventeen  warriors  and  more  than 
thirty  women  and  children  —  some  ten  or  twelve  of  whom  were 
half-breeds,  descendants  of  Exiles  and  Seminoles  —  surrendered, 
and  were  sent  to  Fort  Brooke  for  emigration. 

While  everything  thus  wore  the  appearance  of  peace,  and  all 
were  regarding  the  war  as  near  its  close,  a  small  settlement  of  white 
people,  at  a  place  called  Mandarin,  twenty-two  miles  from  Jackson- 
ville, was  assailed  in  open  day,  and  five  of  the  people  murdered. 
This  attack  was  conducted  by  a  small  party  of  Indians,  less  than 
twenty  in  number,  who  had  come  from  the  interior,  and  in  a  stealthy 
manner  approached  this  settlement,  committed  the  murders,  and 
retired  before  any  troops  could  be  brought  to  the  scene  of  slaughter. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year,  the  authorities  of  Georgia  and  Flor- 
ida gave  evidence  of  their  dissatisfaction  of  the  manner  in  which 
General  Worth  was  conducting  the  war.  The  militia  of  neither 
Florida  nor  Georgia  were  called  on  to  participate  in  the  war.  No 
opportunities  were  afforded  them  of  seizing  negroes  and  selling  them 
into  slavery ;  none  but  the  regular  sutlers  were  permitted  to  en- 
camp with  or  near  the  troops  ;  in  short,  the  war,  as  then  conducted, 
afforded  them  but  little  profit.  General  Worth  had  encouraged  the 
return  of  the  people  to  their  homes  and  plantations,  and  very  few 
of  them  now  drew  rations  from  the  public  stores  for  their  support. 
He  had  discharged  citizens  and  their  slaves  from  public  employ- 
ment, and  the  war  was  carried  on  without  permitting  the  people,  or 
politicians  of  Georgia  or  Florida,  to  interfere  or  dictate  the  manner 
of  its  prosecution. 

This  proceeding  of  General  Worth  greatly  excited  the  people 
and  Executive  of  Georgia,  who  insisted  upon  furnishing  militia  to 
carry  on  the  war.  The  Secretary  of  War  referred  the  matter  at 
once  to  General  Worth,  and  a  most  interesting  and  amusing  corres- 
pondence followed  between  the  Executive  of  Georgia  and  the  Com- 


THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  311 

manding  General.  The  latter  refusing  to  call  for  militia  from  that 
State,  they  were  mustered  without  his  authority,  and  he  was  re- 
quested by  Governor  McDonald  to  withdraw  the  United  States 
forces  from  the  Georgia  frontiers. 

As  there  was  then  no  enemy  near  that  State,  and  no  danger  to 
the  inhabitants,  he  removed  the  troops,  and  the  Georgia  militia  were 
ordered  by  the  Governor  to  take  their  place.  They  did  so  with  the 
confident  expectation  that  General  Worth  would  furnish  rations  and 
hospital  supplies  and  arms  from  the  United  States  stores.  But  he 
refused  to  do  this,  and  the  gallant  militia  of  that  State  immediately 
retired  to  their  homes  in  order  to  dine. 

The  correspondence  on  this  subject  continued  until  May,  1842, 
and  shows  the  skillful  management  of  individuals  to  get  up  alarms 
in  regard  to  the  supposed  presence  of  hostile  Indians,  and  thereby 
manifest  the  necessity  of  posting  troops  in  certain  localities,  where 
there  had  probably  never  been  an  enemy.  To  give  importance  to 
these  counterfeited  alarms,  letters  were  written,  and  presentments 
were  made  by  Grand  Juries.  The  Delegate  from  the  Territory  of 
Florida  demanded  of  the  Executive  the  employment  of  militia  for 
the  protection  of  the  frontier,  and  that  such  militia  be  authorized  to 
act  independently  of  the  Commanding  General. 

Hon.  John  C.  Spencer,  Secretary  of  War,  replied,  that  the  De- 
partment could  see  no  particular  advantage  to  be  derived  from  such 
a  division  of  the  duties  of  the  Commanding  General ;  and,  as  he 
had  no  doubt  General  Worth  would  do  whatever  was  proper,  he 
referred  the  whole  matter  to  his  consideration. 

Had  General  Jessup,  in  1836  and  '37,  adopted  the  policy  which 
guided  General  Worth ;  had  he  sent  his  prisoners  to  the  Western 
Country  without  permitting  the  militia,  or  the  people  of  Florida, 
to  seize  and  enslave  those  whom  he  had  engaged  to  protect  and 
defend,  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  war  would  have  been  closed 
during  the  time  he  was  employed  in  Florida. 

During  the  last  days  of  December,  Tustenuggee  Chopco,  a  sub- 
chief,  and  about  seventy  followers,  consisting  of  warriors,  women 


312  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

and  children,  a  proportion  of  whom  were  Exiles  and  half-breeds, 
surrendered  near  the  Great  Cypress  Swamp,  and  were  also  sent  to 
Fort  Brooke  for  emigration. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  year  several  more  compa- 
nies of  troops  were  discharged,  the  number  of  the  enemy 
being  so  far  diminished  as  to  render  their  presence  useless. 

On  the  fifth  of  February,  some  three  hundred  rand  fifty  Indians 
and  Exiles  were  embarked  at  Tampa  Bay  for  the  Western  Country. 
They  in  due  time  reached  Fort  Gibson,  and  took  up  their  residence 
with  those  who  had  gone  before  them,  and  were  still  residing  upon 
the  lands  of  the  Cherokees. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  February,  General  Worth  addressed  the 
Commanding  General  of  our  array,  at  Washington  City,  a  commu- 
nication, giving  a  detailed  statement  of  the  number  of  Indians  yet 
remaining  in  Florida  —  amounting  in  all  to  three  hundred,  accord- 
ing to  the  best  information  he  had  been  able  to  obtain.  He  also 
stated  the  impossibility  of  capturing  these  individuals,  scattered  as 
they  were  over  a  vast  extent  of  country,  and  advising  that  they 
be  dealt  with,  henceforth,  in  a  peaceful  manner ;  and  that  at  least 
five-sixths  of  the  troops  then  employed  in  Florida  be  withdrawn, 
and  an  equal  proportion  of  the  expenses  of  the  war  be  curtailed. 
He  proposed  sending  a  portion  of  those  friendly  Indians  who 
remained  at  Fort  Brooke,  among  the  hostiles,  to  continue  with 
them,  and  exert  what  influence  they  could  in  fiivor  of  peace  and  of 
emigration;  with  the  assurance,  that  no  further  hostilities  would 
be  prosecuted  by  the  United  States  while  the  Indians  remained 
peaceful. 

The  proposition,  however,  was  rejected  by  the  Executive ;  and 
General  Worth  continued  to  carry  forward  the  work  which  he  had 
prosecuted  thus  far  with  such  signal  success.  He  dismissed  more 
troops  from  service  in  Florida ;  discharged  employees  in  the  various 
departments  under  his  command,  and  made  such  retrenchments  as 
he  was  able  to  effect,  without  detracting  from  the  efficiency  of  the 
public  service. 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  313 

On  the  sixteenth  of  April,  the  troops  fell  in  with  Hallec  Tuste- 
•nuggee,  who,  with  some  seventy  warriors  of  his  own  and  other 
bands,  was  encamped  upon  an  island  in  the  Great  Wahoo  Swamp, 
and  after  an  irregular  fight  of  two  hours,  routed  them.  The  loss 
was  slight  on  both  sides.  Our  troops  had  one  man  killed,  and  four 
wounded ;  the  allies  three  wounded,  whom  they  carried  from  the 
field.  This  was  the  last  battle  fought  in  the  Florida  War.  The 
Indians  scattered  in  various  directions,  and  in  that  way  evaded 
pursuit. 

Halec  Tustenuggee  was  a  most  skillful  warrior :  bold  and  daring 
in  his  policy,  yet  capable  of  dissimulation  and  treachery.  He  hud 
been  the  object  of  pursuit  for  two  years.  His  unceasing  vigilance  had 
enabled  him  to  bid  defiance  to  civilized  troops.  He  was  now  nearly 
destitute  of  powder  and  provisions,  and,  as  an  alternative,  professed 
a  desire  for  peace.  He  came  into  the  American  camp  boldly,  shook 
hands  with  General  Worth,  and  proclaimed  his  pacific  purpose. 
His  professions  were  treated  with  great  apparent  respect.  He 
wanted  provisions  for  his  band.  They  were  encamped  within  three 
miles  of  General  Worth's  head-quarters,  and  were  fed  at  public 
expense.  And  when  the  whole  band  had  come  within  the  lines, 
for  the  purpose  of  attending  a  feast,  they  were  secured  as  prisoners, 
and  immediately  sent  to  Tampa  Bay  for  emigration ;  and,  on  the 
fourteenth  of  July,  this  entire  band,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  persons,  embarked  for  Fort  Gibson,  by  way  of  New  Orleans. 
They  reached  their  destination  in  safety ;  and  most  of  them  took  up 
their  residence  with  their  brethren,  the  Seminoles ;  while  others 
joined  the  Creeks. 

The  Federal  Executive,  having  more  maturely  considered  the 
suggestions  of  General  Worth,  at  length  concluded  to  accede  to  his 
propositions  for  a  pacification  with  the  remaining  hostiles  in  Florida. 
That  ofiicer,  having  secured  Halec  Tustenuggee  and  his  band,  and 
sent  them  West,  now  dispatched  his  messengers  to  those  small 
bands  of  hostiles  which  remained,  inviting  them  to  hold  a  council 
and  enter  into  an  arrangement,  based  upon  the  condition,  that  the 


314  THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 

allies  should  remain  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  Peninsula  of 
Florida,  confined  to  certain  limits,  and  abstain  from  all  acts  of  ag- 
gression upon  their  white  neighbors. 

Most  of  these  small  bands  sent  chiefs,  or  sub-chiefs,  to  attend  the 
council ;  and  terms  of  peace  were  agreed  to,  and  the  following 
General  Order  was  issued  : 

"  ORDER,  )  Head  Quarters  Ninth  MartART  Department,  \ 

No,  28.  J  ^  Cedar  Key,  Florida,  August  1-1.  1843.      5 

**  It  is  hereby  announced,  that  hostilities  with  the  Indians  within 
*'  this  Territory  have  ceased.  Measures  are  taken  to  pass  the  few 
"  remaining  Indians  within  certain  limits  —  those  in  the  far  south 
"  immediately ;  those  west  of  the  Suwanee  in  a  few  days,  who, 
**  meantime,  there  is  every  reasonable  assurance,  will  conduct  in- 
*'  offensively  if  unmolested  in  their  haunts.  The  lands  thus  tem- 
*•  porarily  assigned,  as  their  planting  and  hunting  grounds,  aro 
"  within  the  following  boundaries,  to  wit :  From  the  mouth  of 
'•  Talockchopco,  or  Pease  Creek,  up  the  left  bank  of  that  stream  to 
**  the  fork  of  the  southern  branch,  and,  following  that  branch,  to 
"  the  head  or  northern  edge  of  Lake  Istokpoga ;  thence  down  the 
"  eastern  margin  of  that  lake  to  the  stream  which  empties  into  the 
"  Kissimee  River,  following  the  left  bank  of  the  said  stream  and 
"  river  to  where  the  latter  empties  into  Lake  Okeechobee ;  thence 
'*  down,  due  south,  through  said  lake  and  everglades  to  Shark 
"  River,  following  the  right  bank  of  that  river  to  the  Gulf;  thence 
**  along  the  Gulf  shore  (excluding  all  islands  between  Punta  Rosa 
**  and  the  head  of  Charlotte's  Harbor)  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

*'  The  foregoing  arrangements  are  in  accordance  with  the  instruc- 
"  tions  of  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  By  order  of  Col.  Worth  : 

"  S.  COOPER,  A.  A.  General.'* 

Most  of  the  troops  were  now  withdrawn  from  Florida.  General 
Worth  retired  from  the  command,  and  the  Florida  War  was  sup- 
posed to  have  ended.  It  had  been  commenced  with  a  determination 
to  reiinslave  the  Exiles.    That  object  was,  in  part,  attained.    More 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  315 

than  five  hundred  persons  were  seized  and  enslaved,  between  the 
first  of  January,  1835,  and  the  fourteenth  of  August,  1843. 
Probably  one  half  of  them  had  been  born  free  ;  the  others  had 
themselves  escaped  from  slavery.  To  effect  this  object,  forty  mil- 
lions of  dollars  were  supposed  to  have  been  expended.  Eighty 
thousand  dollars  was  paid  from  the  public  treasury  for  the  enslave- 
ment of  each  person,  and  the  lives  of  at  least  three  white  men 
were  sacrified  to  insure  the  enslavement  of  each  black  man.  The 
deterioration  of  our  national  morality  was  beyond  estimate,  and  the 
disgrace  of  our  nation  and  government  are  matters  incapable  of 
computation.  The  suflfering  of  the  Indians  and  Exiles  amidst  such 
prolonged  persecution,  such  loss  of  lives  and  property,  we  cannot 
estimate.  The  friends  and  families  who  were  separated,  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  were  made  wretched  for  life,  the  broken  hearts, 
we  will  not  attempt  to  enumerate.  Nearly  one  half  of  the  whole 
number  were  consigned  to  the  moral  death  of  slavery,  and  many  to 
that  physical  death  which  was  dreaded  far  less  than  slavery.  After 
wandering  in  the  wilderness  thrice  forty  years,  they  fell  under 
the  oppression,  the  persecution,  the  power  of  a  mighty  nation, 
which  boasts  of  its  justice,  its  honor,  and  love  of  liberty.  We 
lament  the  sad  fate  of  those  who  died  in  that  struggle ;  but  with 
deeper  anguish,  and  far  keener  mortification,  we  deplore  the  un- 
happy lot  of  those  who  were  doomed  to  drag  out  a  miserable  exist- 
ence, amidst  chains  and  wretchedness,  surrounded  by  that  moral 
darkness  which  broods  over  the  enslaved  portion  of  our  fellow- 
beings  in  the  Southern  States. 

There  are  yet  remaining  in  Florida  a  few  descendants  of  the 
pioneer  Exiles.  They  are  intermarried  with  the  bands  of  "Billy 
Bowlegs,"  and  of  **  Sam  Jones,''  sometimes  called  Aripeka;  they 
are  now  mostly  half-breeds,  and  are  rapidly  becoming  amalgamated 
with  the  Indian  race. 

Besides  these,  there  are  a  number  of  Spanish  Refugees,  or  color- 
ed people  who  fled  from  Spanish  masters  and  took  up  their  resi- 
dence with  those  called  "  Spanish  Indians."    These  did  not  engage 


316  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  ' 

in  the  war  until  1840:  nor  did  they  then  engage  in  any  of  the 
battles  with  our  army ;  they  contented  themselves  with  plundering 
ships  wrecked  on  their  coast,  and  the  foray  upon  Indian  Key. 
They  refused  to  send  delegates  to  the  council  summoned  by  General 
Worth,  to  establish  terms  of  pacification.  They  live  independent 
of  the  white  people,  subsisting  mostly  on  fish  and  the  natural  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil,  holding  very  little  intercourse  with  either  white 
men  or  other  Indians.  Descendants  of  Exile  parents,  they  have 
the  complexion  and  appearance  of  pure  Spaniards ;  but  they  are 
rapidly  blending  with  the  Indians,  and  forming  a  mixed  race. 

These  diflferent  bands,  remaining  in  Florida,  and  aggregating 
into  a  distinct  people,  have  on  several  occasions  since  1843,  given 
evidence  of  implacable  hostility  to  the  whites.  And  at  the  time  of 
writing  this  narrative,  they  are  engaged  in  open  war ;  while  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  is  endeavoring  to  secure  peace  in 
the  same  manner  and  upon  the  same  terms  on  which  General  Worth 
obtained  it,  in  1843.  Their  future  history  may,  hereafter,  occupy 
the  pen  of  some  other  historian. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

HISTORY    OF    EXILES    CONTINUED. 

Character  of  Abraham  — His  knowledge  of  the  Treaty  of  Payne's  Landing  — Its  stipula- 
tions—General Jessup's  assurances  —  Confirmed  by  other  Officers  of  Government  — 
Disappointment  of  Exiles  on  reaching  Wt- stern  Country  —  They  refuse  to  enter  Creek 
jurisdiction  —  Creeks  di.<appointed  —  General  Cass's  policy  of  reuniting  Tribes  —  Agent 
attempts  to  pacify  Exiles  —  Hospitality  of  Cherokees  —  Discontent  of  all  the  Tribes  — 
Seniinoles  loud  in  their  complaints  —  Hostilities  apprehended  —  Conduct  of  Executive  — 
Agents  selected  to  negotiate  another  Treaty  —  Treaty  stipulations  —  Attempts  to  falsify 
history  —  Executive  action  unknown  to  the  people. 

The  Exiles  were  now  all  located  on  the  Cherokee  lands,  west  of 
the  State  of  Arkansas.  They  had  been  removed  from 
Florida  at  great  expense  of  blood  and  treasure  ;  but  they 
were  yet  free,  and  the  object  of  the  Administration  had  not  been 
attained.  Conscious  of  the  designs  of  the  Creeks,  the  Serainoles 
and  Exiles  refused  to  trust  themselves  within  Creek  jurisdiction. 
They  were  tenants  at  will  of  the  Cherokees,  whose  hospitality  had 
furnished  them  with  temporary  homes  until  the  Government  should 
fulfill  its  treaty  stipulations,  in  furnishing  them  a  territory  to  their 
separate  use. 

Abraham  was,  perhaps,  the  most  influential  man  among  the 
Exiles.  He  had  been  a  witness  and  interpreter  in  making  the 
treaty  of  Payne's  Landing,  and  had  dictated  the  important  provis- 
ion in  the  supplemental  treaty ;  he  had  exerted  his  influence  in 
favor  of  emigration;  to  him,  therefore,  his  people  looked  with  more 
confidence  than  to  any  other  individual.     In  all  his  intercourse 

(817) 


318  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

with  our  officers,  he  had  been  assured  of  the  intention  to  fulfill 
those  treaties ;  and  when  he  found  the  Government  hesitating  on 
that  point,  he  became  indignant,  and  so  did  others  of  his  band. 
But  he  could  only  express  his  indignation  to  the  Agent  appointed 
to  superintend  their  affairs  and  supply  their  wants.  These  com- 
plaints were  made  known  to  the  Indian  Bureau,  at  Washington ; 
but  they  were  unheeded,  and  the  Exiles  and  their  friends  lived  on 
in  the  vain  hope  that  the  Administration  would  at  some  day  redeem 
the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation,  and  assign  them  a  territory  for  their 
separate  use,  where  they  could  live  independent  of  the  Creeks,  as 
they  had  done  for  nearly  a  century  past. 

Nor  is  it  easy  for  men  at  this  day  to  appreciate  that  feeling  which 
so  stubbornly  sought  their  enslavement ;  we  can  only  account  for 
this  unyielding  purpose,  from  the  long-established  practice  of  so 
wielding  the  power  and  influence  of  the  nation  as  best  to  promote 
the  interests  of  slavery.  It  is  certain,  that  it  would  have  cost  the 
United  States  no  more  to  set  off  to  the  Exiles  and  Seminole  Indians 
a  separate  territory,  on  which  they  could  live  free  and  independent, 
than  it  would  to  constrain  them  to  settle  on  the  Creek  lands,  and 
subject  them  to  Creek  laws,  and  Creek  despotism,  and  Creek 
servitude. 

General  Jackson,  in  1816,  had  ordered  Blount's  Fort  to  be  de- 
stroyed and  the  negroes  returned  to  those  who  owned  them.  To 
effect  this  latter  object,  in  1822,  he  proposed  lo  compel  the  Seminole 
Indians  to  return  and  reunite  with  the  Creeks.  If  at  any  time 
there  were  other  reasons  for  the  frauds  committed  upon  the  Exiles 
and  Indians — for  the  violations  of  the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation — 
it  is  hoped  that  some  of  the  officers  who  acted  a  prominent  part  in 
those  scenes  of  treachery  and  turpitude,  or  their  biographers,  will 
yet  inform  the  public  of  their  existence. 

Settled,  as  the  Seminoles  and  Exiles  now  were  on  the  Cherokee 
lands,  all  parties  concerned  were  necessarily  dissatisfied.  The 
Creeks  were  disappointed,  and  greatly  dissatisfied  at  not  having  the 
Exiles  in  their  power,  and  charged  our  Government  with  bad  faith 


THE    EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  319 

in  not  delivering  that  extraordinary  people  into  their  hands.  The 
Cberokees  had  assured  the  Seminoles  and  Exiles  that  our  Govern- 
ment would  deal  honorably  with  them,  and  would  faithfully  carry 
out  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing,  with  the  proviso  contained  in 
the  supplemental  treaty ;  and  they  were  now  greatly  dissatisfied 
at  the  refusal  of  the  Executive  to  observe  this  solemn  stipulation ; 
while  the  Seminoles  and  Exiles  were  indignant  at  the  deception, 
fraud  and  perfidy  practiced  upon  them. 

Complaints  against  the  Government  now  became  general  among 
all  these  tribes.  All  had  been  deceived ;  all  had  been  wronged ; 
and  all  became  loud  in  their  denunciations  of  the  Government. 
This  feeling  became  more  intense  as  time  passed  away.  It  was  in 
vain  that  our  Indian  agents  and  military  officers  at  the  West  en- 
deavored to  quiet  this  state  of  general  discontent.  The  newspapers 
of  that  day  gave  intimations  of  difficulties  among  the  Indians  at  the 
West ;  they  stated,  in  general  terms,  the  danger  of  hostilities,  but 
omitted  all  allusion  to  the  cause  of  this  disquietude. 

The  Executive  appeared  to  be  paralyzed  with  the  difficulties  now 
thrown  in  his  way.  He  urged  upon  the  Indian  agents  and  military 
officers  to  use  all  possible  efforts  to  suppress  these  feelings  of  hos- 
tility, which  now  appeared  ready  to  burst  forth  upon  the  first  occa- 
sion ;  coolly  insisting  that,  at  some  future  day,  the  Seminoles  and 
Exiles  would  consent  to  remove  on  to  the  Creek  territory. 

At  length  the  danger  of  hostilities  became  so  imminent,  that  the 
Executive  deemed  it  necessary  to  enter  upon  further  negotiation  in 
order  to  effect  the  long  cherished  purpose  of  subjecting  the  Exiles 
to  Creek  jurisdiction  and  consequent  slavery.  To  effect  this  object 
it  was  necessary  to  select  suitable  instruments.  Four  Indian  Agents, 
holding  their  offices  by  the  Executive  favor,  were  appointed  to  hold 
a  Council  with  their  discontented  tribes,  and  if  possible  to  negotiate 
a  new  treaty  with  them.  It  is  somewhat  singular  that  no  states- 
man, no  person  favorably  known  to  the  public,  or  possessing  public 
confidence,  was  selected  for  so  important  a  service. 

Of  course  any  treaty  formed  under  such  circumstances  and  by 


320  THE   EXILES   OP   FLORIDA. 

such  agents  would  conform  to  the  Executive  will.     The 

treaty  bears  date  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  January;  and  we 

insert  the  preamble  and  those  articles  which  have  particular  relation 

to  the  subject  matter  of  which  we  are  speaking.     They  are  as 

follows : 

*•  Articles  of  a  Treaty  made  by  Wm.  Armstrong,  P.  M.  Butler, 
James  Segan  and  Thomas  S.  Judge,  Commissioners  in  behalf  of 
the  United  States,  of  the  first  part ;  the  Creek  Tribe  of  Indians 
of  the  second  part,  and  the  Seminole  Indians  of  the  third  part : 

*•  Whereas,  It  was  stipulated  in  the  fourth  article  of  the  Creek 
"  Treaty  of  1833,  that  the  Seminoles  should  thence  forward  be 
**  considered  a  constituent  part  of  the  Creek  nation,  and  that  a  per- 
**  manent  and  comfortable  home  should  be  secured  for  them  on  the 
**  lands  set  apart  in  said  treaty  as  the  country  of  the  Creeks;  and 
"whereas,  many  of  the  Seminoles  have  settled  and  are  now  living 
"  in  the  Creek  Country,  while  others,  constituting  a  large  portion 
"  of  the  tribe,  have  refused  to  make  their  homes  in  any  part  there- 
**  of,  assigning,  as  a  reason,  that  they  are  unwilling  to  submit  to 
"  Creek  laws  and  Government,  and  that  they  are  apprehensive  of 
**  being  deprived  by  the  Creek  authorities  of  their  property  ;  and 
"  whereas,  repeated  complaints  have  been  made  to  the  United  States 
**  Government,  that  those  of  the  Seminoles  who  refuse  to  go  into 
*'  the  Creek  Country  have,  without  authority  or  right,  settled  upon 
**  lands  secured  to  other  tribes,  and  that  they  have  committed  nu- 
"  merous  and  extensive  depredations  upon  the  property  of  those 
**  upon  whose  lands  they  have  intruded  : 

*' Now,  therefore,  in  order  to  reconcile  all  difiiculties  respecting 
"location  and  jurisdiction;  to  settle  all  disputed  questions  which 
''  have  arisen,  or  may  hereafter  arise,  in  regard  to  rights  of  prop- 
*'  erty  ;  and,  especially,  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  frontier,  seri- 
'•  ously  endangered  by  the  restless  and  warlike  spirit  of  the  intru- 
'•  ding  Seminoles,  the  parties  to  this  treaty  have  agreed  to  the  fol- 
"  lowing  stipulations : 


THE   EXILES   OP   FLORIDA.  321 

"  Article  1.  The  Creeks  agree  that  the  Seminoles  shall  be 
"  entitled  to  settle  in  a  body,  or  separately,  as  they  please,  in  any 
**  part  of  the  Creek  Country ;  that  they  shall  make  their  own  town 
**  regulations,  subject,  however,  to  the  general  control  of  the  Creek 
*'  Council  in  which  they  shall  be  represented;  and,  in  short,  that 
*'  no  distinction  shall  be  made  between  the  two  tribes  in  any  re- 
"  spect,  except  in  the  management  of  their  pecuniary  affairs ;  in 
"which  neither  shall  interfere  with  the  other. 

"  Art  2.  The  Seminoles  agree  that  those  of  their  tribe  who 
*'  have  not  done  so  before  the  ratification  of  this  treaty,  shall  imme- 
'*  diately  thereafter  remove  to,  and  permanently  settle  in,  the  Creek 
**  Country. 

"  Art.  3.  It  is  nmtually  agreed  by  the  Creeks  and  Seminoles 
*'  that  all  contested  cases  between  the  two  tribes,  concerning  the 
**  right  of  property  growing  out  of  sales  or  transactions  that  may 
*'  have  occurred  previous  to  the  ratification  of  this  treaty,  shall  be 
**  subject  to  the  decision  of  the  President  of  the  United  States." 

The  leading  feature  of  this  treaty,  is  a  studied  effort  to  make  no 
allusion  to  the  Exiles,  or  to  recognize  their  existence  in  any  way. 
General  Jessup,  in  the  articles  of  capitulation,  had  expressly  stipu- 
lated for  the  protection  of  the  persons  and  property  of  the  "allies" 
of  the  Seminoles  ;  but  for  half  a  century  efforts  had  been  made  to 
exclude  them  from  the  page  of  our  national  history,  and  never  was 
that  policy  more  strikingly  illustrated  than  in  this  treaty. 

As  heretofore  stated,  the  Seminoles  were  said  to  own  some  forty 
slaves ;  but  the  Author  has  been  unable  to  find  any  hint  or  intima- 
tion that  any  one  of  those  slaves  was  claimed  by  the  Creeks  :  yet 
efforts  were  made  to  falsify  the  truth  of  history  by  representing  the 
four  or  five  hundred  Exiles  now  living  with  the  Seminoles  to  be 
slaves  to  their  friends  and  "  allies.''^ 

The  next  extraordinary  feature  of  the  treaty,  is  the  recital  of  the 
Greek  treaty  as  binding  upon  the  Seminoles,  when  they  had  been 
no  party  to  it,  nor  even  had  knowledge  of  its  existence. 
21 


322  THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

But  the  tbird  article  is  that  on  which  both  Exiles  and  Seminoles 
appear  to  have  relied.  Thinking  the  President  would  do  justice ; 
feeling  themselves  subject  to  the  power  of  the  Executive,  and 
pressed  on  all  sides  to  accede  to  terms  of  pacification,  they  signed 
the  treaty  as  the  best  alternative  that  lay  before  them. 

In  accordance  with  the  past  policy  of  the  Administration,  this 
treaty  was  withheld  from  publication.  It  was  of  course  submitted 
to  the  Senate  in  secret  session  for  approval.  It  was  then  amended, 
and  still  kept  from  the  public  for  nearly  two  years  after  its 
negotiation. 

Note. — At  the  session  of  Congress,  1845-6.  a  bill  containing,  among  many  other  things,  an 
appropriation  to  c  irrj  out  this  treaty,  was  reported  by  the  committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 
of  the  House  of  Kcpresentatives.  The  treaty  itself  yet  lay  concealed  in  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Senate,  where  it  had  been  ratified  in  .secret  session,  and  not  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  had  seen  it,  unless  it  was  the  Chairman  of  the  committee  of 
Ways  and  Means,  or  other  confidential  friends  of  the  Executive,  to  whom  it  was  given  for 
personal  examination. 

The  bill  was  printed,  and  the  Author  seeing  this  provision,  determined  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  treaty,  before  voting  money  to  carry  it  into  effi*ct.  For  this  purpose,  he 
called  on  one  of  the  Senators  from  Ohio  (lion.  Thomas  Corwin),  to  get  a  copy  of  the 
treity.  Mr.  Corwin  went  with  him  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  and  after 
much  inquiry,  and  pa,ssing  from  one  clerk  to  another,  a  copy  wjis  obtsiined. 

When  the  bill  came  up  for  di.scus.sion,  inquiry  was  made  as  to  the  treaty,  its  character 
and  object.  No  member  appeared  to  have  any  knowledge  of  it,  save  the  Chairman  of  tho 
committee  of  Ways  and  Meauf,  (Mr.  McKay  of  North  Carolina  )  The  Author  of  this 
work  endeavored  to  give  the  Housh  some  idea  of  its  origin,  'ind,  in  the  course  of  his  re- 
marks, referred  to  the  manner  in  which  the  State  of  Georgia  had  been  implicated  in  the 
persecution  of  the  Exiles  This  referent  to  the  State  of  Georgia  awakened  the  ire  of  Mr. 
Black,  a  Representative  from  that  State,  who  advanced  toward  the  Author  with  uplifted 
cane,  as  if  to  uaflict  personal  chastisement,  and  quite  a  sci7ie  followed,  which  at  the  tiaio 
CFe<ited  some  sensatioD  in  the  country. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

THE    REUNION    AND    FINAL    EXODCS. 

Difficulties  io  effecting  a  reunion  of  Tribes  —  Its  objects  —  Exiles  and  Semiuoles  move  ou  to 
Creek  Lands  —  They  settle  in  separate  Villages  —  Creeks  demand  Exiles  as  Slaves  —  Ex- 
iles arm  themselves  —  They  flee  to  Fort  Gibson  — Demand  protection  of  the  United 
States  —  General  Arbuckle  protects  them  —  Reports  facts  to  Department  —  Administra- 
tion embarrassed  —  Call  on  General  Jessup  for  facts  —  He  writes  General  Arbuckle  — 
Reports  facts  to  the  President  —  President  hesitates  —  Refers  question  to  Attorney  Gen- 
eral—  Extraordinary  opinion  of  that  Officer  —  Manner  in  which  Mr.  Mason  was  placed 
in  office  —  Exiles  return  to  their  Village  —  Slaveholders  dissatisfied  —Slave-dealer  among 
the  Creeks  —  His  offer  —  They  capture  near  one  hundred  Exiles  —  They  are  delivered 
to  the  Slave-dealer  —  Habeas  Corpus  in  Arkansas  —  Decision  of  Judge  —  Exiles  hurried 
to  New  Orleans  and  sold  as  Slaves  —  Events  of  1850  —  Exiles  depart  for  Mexico  —  Are 
pursued  by  Creeks  —  Battle  —  The  Exiles  continue  their  journey  —  They  settle  near 
Santa  Rosa  —  The  fate  which  different  portions  of  the  Exiles  met  —  Incidents  which  oc- 
curred after  their  settlement  in  Mexico  —  Conclusion. 

The  Creeks  and  Seminoles  had  been  separated  for  nearly  a  cen- 

1  fLL(\  1  ^^^^'  ^^^^y  ^^^  ^^^^^'  ^^  ^^^^^  ^^"^^  ^^^'^^  under  separate 
governments.  Each  Tribe  had  been  controlled  by  their 
own  laws;  and  each  had  been  independent  of  the  other.  They  had 
often  been  at  war  with  each  other ;  and  the  most  deadly  feuds  had 
been  engendered  and  still  subsisted  among  them.  To  unite  them 
with  the  Creeks,  and  blot  the  name  of  "  Seminole  "  from  the  page 
of  their  future  history,  in  order  to  involve  the  Exiles  in  slavery, 
had  long  been  a  cherished  object  with  the  administration  of  our 
Government.  It  was  now  fondly  hoped,  that  that  object  would  be 
accomplished  without  further  difficulty. 


324  THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

But  at  no  period  had  the  Seminole  Indians  regarded  the  Exiles 
with  greater  favor  than  they  did  when  removing  on  to  the  territory 
assigned  to  the  Creeks.  Although  many  of  them  had  intermarried 
with  the  Seminoles,  and  half-breeds  were  now  common  among  the 
Indians  ;  yet  most  of  the  descendants  of  the  pioneers  who  fled  from 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  maintained  their  identity  of  charac- 
ter, living  hy  themselves,  and  maintaining  the  purity  of  the  African 
race.  They  yet  cherished  this  love  of  their  own  kindred  and  color ; 
and  when  they  removed  on  to  the  Creek  lands,  they  settled  in  sep- 
arate villages  :  and  the  Seminole  Indians  appeared  generally  to  coin- 
cide with  the  Exiles  in  the  propriety  of  each  maintaining  their  dis- 
tinctive character. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  both  Indians  and  Exiles  became 
residents  within  Creek  jurisdiction ;  and  the  Executive  seemed  to 
regard  the  trust  held  under  the  assignment  made  at  Indian  Spring, 
twenty-four  years  previously,  as  now  fulfilled.  Regarding  the 
Creeks  as  holding  the  equitable  or  beneficial  interest  in  the  bodies 
of  the  Exiles,  under  the  assignment  from  their  owners  to  the  United 
States,  and  they  being  now  brought  under  Creek  jurisdiction,  sub- 
ject to  Creek  laws,  the  Executive  felt  that  his  obligations  were  dis- 
charged, and  the  whole  matter  left  with  the  Creeks. 

This  opinion  appears  also  to  have  been  entertained  by  the  Creek 
Indians  ;  for  no  sooner  had  the  Exiles  and  Seminoles  located  them- 
selves within  Creek  jurisdiction,  than  the  Exiles  were  claimed  as 
the  legitimate  slaves  of  the  Creeks.  To  these  demands  the  Exiles 
and  Seminoles  replied,  that  the  President,  under  the  treaty  of 
1845,  was  bound  to  hear  and  determine  all  questions  arising  be- 
tween them.  The  demands  were,  therefore,  certified  to  the  proper 
department  for  decision.  But  this  setting  in  judgment  upon  the 
heaven-endowed  right  of  man  to  his  liberty,  seemed  to  involve  more 
personal  and  moral  responsibility  than  was  desirable  for  the  Execu- 
tive to  assume,  and  the  claims  remained  undecided. 

The  Creeks  became  impatient  at  delay ;  they  were  a  slaveholding 
people,  as  well  as  their  more  civilized  but  more  infidel  brethren,  of 


THE   EXILES  OF   FLORIDA.  325 

the  slave  States.  The  Exiles,  living  in  their  own  villages  in  the  en- 
joyment of  perfect  freedom,  had  already  excited  discontent  among 
the  slaves  of  the  Creek  and  Choctaw  Tribes,  and  those  of  Arkansas. 
The  Creeks  appeared  to  feel  that  it  had  been  far  better  for  them  to 
have  kept  the  Exiles  in  Florida,  than  to  bring  them  to  the  Western 
Country  to  live  in  freedom.  Yet  their  claims  under  the  treaty  of 
1845,  thus  far,  appeared  to  have  been  disregarded  by  the  President; 
they  had  been  unable  to  obtain  a  decision  on  them ;  and  they  now 
threatened  violence  for  the  purpose  of  enslaving  the  Exiles,  unless 
their  demands  were  peacefully  conceded. 

The  Exiles,  yet  confident  that  the  Government  would  fulfill  its 
stipulations  to  protect  them  and  their  property,  repaired  in  a  body 
to  Fort  Gibson,  and  demanded  protection  of  General  Arbuckle,  the 
ofiicer  in  command.  He  had  no  doubt  of  the  obligation  of  the 
United  States  to  lend  them  protection,  according  to  the  express 
language  of  the  articles  of  capitulation  entered  into  with  General 
Jessup,  in  March,  1837.  He,  therefore,  directed  the  whole  body 
of  Exiles  to  encamp  and  remain  upon  the  lands  reserved  by  the 
United  States,  near  the  fort,  and  under  their  exclusive  jurisdiction, 
assuring  them  that  no  Cr^ek  would  dare  set  foot  upon  that  reserva- 
tion with  intentions  of  violence  towards  any  person.  Accordingly 
the  Exiles,  who  yet  remained  free,  now  encamped  around  Fort 
Gibson,  and  were  supported  by  rations  dealt  out  from  the  public 
stores. 

Soon  as  he  could  ascertain  all  the  facts.  General  Arbuckle  made 
xeport  to  the  War  Department  relative  to  their  situation,  and  the 
claims  which  they  made  to  protection  under  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion, together  with  the  rights  which  the  Creeks  set  up  to  reenslave 
them. 

This  state  of  circumstances  appears  to  have  been  unexpected  by 
the  Executive.  Indeed,  he  appears  from  the  commencement  to 
have  under-rated  the  difficulties  which  beset  the  enslavement  of  a 
people  who  were  determined  upon  the  enjoyment  of  freedom ;  he 
seems  to  have  expected  the  negroes,  when  once  placed  within  Creek 


326  THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

jarisdiction,  would  have  yielded  without  further  effort.  But  he 
was  now  placed  in  a  position  which  constrained  him  either  to  repu- 
diate the  pledged  faith  of  the  nation,  or  to  protect  the  Exiles  in 
their  persons  and  property,  according  to  the  solemn  covenants 
which  General  Jessup  had  entered  into  with  them. 

Yet  the  President  was  disposed  to  make  further  efforts  to  avoid 
the  responsibility  of  deciding  the  question  before  him.  General 
Jessup  had  entered  into  the  articles  of  capitulation,  and  the  Presi- 
dent appeared  to  think  he  was  competent  to  give  construction  to 
them ;  he  therefore  referred  the  subject  to  that  ofiBcer,  stating  the 
circumstances,  and  demanding  of  him  the  substance  of  his  under- 
taking in  regard  to  the  articles  of  capitulation  with  the  Exiles. 

General  Jessup  appears  to  have  now  felt  a  desire  to  do  justice  to 
that  friendless  and  persecuted  people.  Without  waiting  to  answer 
the  President,  he  at  once  wrote  General  Arbuckle,  saying,  **  The 
"  case  of  the  Seminole  negroes  is  now  before  the  President.  By 
**  my  proclamation  and  the  convention  made  with  them,  when  they 
"  separated  from  the  Indians  and  surrendered,  they  are  free.  The 
"  question  is,  whether  they  shall  be  separated  from  the  Seminoles 
**  and  removed  to  another  country;  or  be  allowed  to  occupy,  as  they 
"  did  in  Florida,  separate  villages  in  the  Seminole  Country,  west 
**  of  Arkansas?  The  latter  is  what  I  promised  them.  I  hope, 
"  General,  you  will  prevent  any  interference  with  them  at  Fort 
**  Gibson,  until  the  President  determines  whether  they  shall  remain 
"  in  the  Seminole  Country,  or  be  allowed  to  remove  to  some 
"  other." 

General  Arbuckle,  faithful  to  the  honor  of  his  Government,  con- 
tinued to  protect  the  Exiles.  He  fed  them  from  the  public  stores, 
not  doubting  that  the  Executive  would  redeem  the  pledge  of  the 
nation  given  by  General  Jessup,  its  authorized  agent.  But  the 
President  (Mr.  Polk)  himself  a  slaveholder,  with  his  prejudices  and 
sympathies  in  favor  of  the  institution,  did  not  understand  the  articles 
of  capitulation  according  to  the  construction  put  upon  them  by 
General  Jessup;    he  appears,    therefore,  to  have  called  on  the 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA.  32f 

General  for  a  more  explicit  report  of  facts.  In  reply  to  this 
call,  he  reported,  saying,  "  At  a  meeting  with  the  three  Indian 
"  chiefs,  and  the  negro  chiefs,  Auguste  and  Carollo,  I  stipulated 
**  to  recommend  to  the  President  to  grant  the  Indians  a  small 
"  tract  of  country  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  Peninsula ;  but 
"  it  was  distinctly  understood  that  the  negroes  were  to  be  separated 
••  from  them  at  once,  and  sent  West,  whether  the  Indians  were 
**  permitted  to  remain  in  Florida  or  not.  With  the  negroes,  it  was 
**  stipulated  that  they  should  be  sent  West,  as  a  part  of  the  Semi- 
**  nolo  nation,  and  be  settled  in  a  separate  village,  under  the  pko- 
"  TECTiON  OF  THE  United  States."  In  another  letter,  addressed 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  he  says :  "A  very  small  portion  of  the 
"  Seminole  negroes  who  went  to  the  West,  were  brought  in  and 
"  surrendered  by  their  owners,  under  the  capitulation  of  Fort  Dade. 
"  Over  these  negroes  the  Indians  have  all  the  rights  of  masters; 
'*  but  all  the  other  negroes,  making  more  than  nine-tenths  of  the 
"  whole  number,  either  separated  from  the  Indians  and  surrendered 
"  to  me,  or  were  captured  by  the  troops  under  my  command.  I, 
"  as  commander  of  the  army,  and  in  the  capacity  of  representative 
*•  of  my  country,  solemnly  pledged  the  national  faith  that  they 
"  should  not  he  separated,  nor  any  of  them  sold  to  white  men  or 
"  others,  but  be  allowed  to  settle  and  remain  in  separate  villages, 

"  UNDER  THE  PROTECTION  OF  THE  UnITED  StATES." 

But  even  with  these  explicit  statements  before  him,  the  President 
appears  to  have  been  unable  to  form  an  opinion ;  and  he  referred 
the  matter  to  the  Attorney  General,  Hon.  John  Y.  Mason,  of 
Virginia,  who  had  been  bred  a  slaveholder,  and  fully  sympathized 
with  the  slave  power.  He,  having  examined  the  whole  subject, 
delivered  a  very  elaborate  opinion,  embracing  seven  documentary 
pages  ;^  but  concluding  with  the  opinion,  that  although  the  Esiles 

(1)  Vide  opinions  of  the  Attorn«'y  Generals,  from  1S38  to  1851,  page  1944,  Senate  Doc  55. 
It  is  a  singular  fact  that,  in  the  whole  of  this  elaborate  opinion,  no  allusion  is  made  to  the 
real  condition  of  the  Exiles  ;  nor  would  any  person  suspect,  fioxn  reading  it,  that  'he  At- 
torney General  had  any  knowledge  of  the  claim  which  the  Creeks  preferred.     Although  he 


328  THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA. 

were  entitled  to  their  freedom,  the  Executive  could  not  interfere  in 
any  manner  to  protect  them,  as  stipulated  by  General  Jessup,  but 
must  leave  them  to  retire  to  their  Towns  in  the  Indian  Territory, 
where  they  had  a  right  to  remain. 

We  should  be  unfaithful  to  our  pledged  purpose,  were 
we  to  omit  certain  important  facts  connected  with  this 
opinion  of  the  Attorney  General.  Nathan  Clifford,  of  Maine,  was 
appointed  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  in  1846,  soon 
after  the  report  of  General  Arbuckle  concerning  the  situation  of  the 
Exiles  reached  Washington.  The  subject  was  before  the  President 
more  than  two  years.  This  delay  we  cannot  account  for,  unless  it 
were  to  save  Mr.  Clifford  (being  a  Northern  man)  from  the  respon- 
sibility of  deciding  this  question,  involving  important  interests  of 
the  slaveholding  portion  of  our  Union.  In  1848  Mr.  Clifford  was 
appointed  Minister  to  Mexico,  and  Hon.  Isaac  Toucey,  of  Connec- 
ticut, was  appointed  Attorney  General.  But  he,  too,  was  from  a 
free  State,  and  it  would  throw  upon  him  great  responsibility  were 
he  constrained  to  act  upon  this  subject.  Were  he  to  decide  in  favor 
of  the  Exiles,  it  might  ruin  his  popularity  at  the  South ;  and  if 
against  them,  it  would  have  an  equally  fatal  effect  at  the  North. 

Under  these  circumstances,  recourse  was  had  to  an  expedient. 
Before  Mr.  Toucey  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties, 
Mr.  Mason,  himself  a  slaveholder,  was  appointed  to  discharge  the 
duties  ad  interim.  He  entered  the  office,  wrote  out  the  opinion 
referred  to,  and  then  resigned  the  office  and  emoluments  to  Mr. 
Toucey;  having  decided  no  other  question,  nor  discharged  any 
other  duty,  than  this  exercise  of  official  influence  for  the  enslave- 
ment of  the  Exiles. 


quotas  the  clause  in  the  articles  of  capitulation,  which  expressly  and  emphatically  declares 
that  "  Major  General  Jessup,  in  behalf  of  the  United  States,  agrees  that  the  Seminoles  and 
their  allies,  who  come  in  and  emigrate,  sha'l  he  protected  in  heir  lives  and  property ;"  yet 
he  appears  never  to  have  conceived  the  idea  that  such  a  stipulation  could  impose  any 
duties  upon  our  Government  in  favor  of  negroes ;  nor  does  he  attempt  to  define  the  meanr 
ing  of  this  most  explicit  covenant. 


THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA.  329 

The  President  affirmed  the  principles  decided  by  the  Attorney 
General,  and  the  Exiles  were  informed  that  they  had  the  right  to 
remain  in  their  villages,  free  from  all  interference,  or  interrup- 
tion from  the  Creeks.  They  had  no  other  lands,  no  other  country, 
no  other  homes.  Many  of  their  families  were  connected  by  mar- 
riage with  the  Seminoles  They  and  the  Seminole  Indians  had, 
through  several  generations,  been  acquainted  with  each  other;  they 
had  stood  beside  each  other  on  many  a  battle  field.  Seminoles  and 
Exiles  had  fallen  beside  each  other,  and  were  buried  in  the  same 
grave  ;  they  had  often  sat  in  council  together,  and  the  Exiles  were 
unwilling  to  separate  from  tlieir  friends.  Wild  Gat  and  Abraham 
and  Louis,  and  many  leading  men  and  warriors  of  the  Exiles  and 
Seminoles,  having  deliberated  upon  the  subject,  united  in  the  opin- 
ion, that  the  Exiles  should  return  to  their  villages  and  reside  upon 
the  lands  to  which  they  were  entitled. 

In  accordance  with  this  decision,  they  returned  to  their  new  homes, 
resumed  their  habits  of  agriculture,  and  for  a  time  all  was  quiet  and 
peaceful;  but  their  example  was  soon  felt  among  the  slaves  of 
Arkansas,  and  of  the  surrounding  Indian  tribes.  Nor  is  it  to  be 
supposed  that  the  holders  of  slaves  in  any  State  of  the  Union,  would 
be  willing  to  admit  that  so  large  a  body  of  servants  could,  by  any 
effort,  separate  from  their  masters,  for  a  century  and  a  half  main- 
tain their  liberty,  and  after  so  much  effort  to  reenslave  them,  be 
permitted  to  enjoy  liberty  in  peace. 

Hundreds  of  them  had  been  seized  in  Florida  and  enslaved. 
The  laws  of  slave  States  presumed  every  black  person  to  be  a 
slave ;  and  it  was  evident,  that  if  they  could  once  be  subjected  to 
the  will  of  some  white  man,  the  laws  of  Arkansas  would  enable 
him  to  hold  them  in  bondage.^ 

An  individual,  a  slave-dealer,  appeared  among  the  Creeks  and 


(!)  Under  this  law,  which  is  general  in  all  slave  States,  free  colored  citizens  of  nearly 
every  free  State  of  the  Union  have  been  seized  and  enslaved,  and  are  now  toiling  in 
chains. 


330  THE  EXILES  OF  FLORIDA. 

offered  to  pay  them  one  hundred  dollars  for  each  Exile  they  would 
seize  and  deliver  to  hira ;  he  stipulating  to  take  all  risk  of  titled 

This  temptation  was  too  great  for  the  integrity  of  tho 
Creeks,  who  were  smarting  under  their  disappointment, 
and  the  defeat  of  their  long  cherished  schemes,  of  reenslaving  the 
Exiles.  Some  two  hundred  Creek  warriors  collected  together, 
armed  themselves,  and,  making  a  sudden  descent  upon  the  Exiles, 
seized  such  as  they  could  lay  their  hands  upon.  The  men  and  most 
of  the  women  and  children  fled  ;  but  those  who  had  arms  collected, 
and  presenting  themselves  between  their  brethren  and  the  Creeks 
who  were  pursuing  them,  prepared  to  defend  themselves  and 
friends. 2  The  Creeks,  unwilling  to  encounter  the  danger  which 
threatened  them,  ceased  from  further  pursuit,  but,  turning  back, 
dragged  their  frightened  victims,  who  had  been  already  captured, 
to  the  Creek  villages,  and  delivered  them  over  to  the  slavedealer, 
who  paid  them  the  stipulated  price. 

(1)  Hon.  R.  W.  Johnson,  a  Representative  from  Arkansas,  spoke  of  this  wretch  as  having 
come  from  Louisiana ;  but  from  manuscript  letters  on  file  in  the  War  Department,  the 
Author  is  led  to  think  he  came  from  Florida,  and  had  previously  participated  in  kidnap- 
ping Exiles  in  that  Territory. 

(2)  The  Author,  being  unable  to  obtain  a  publication  of  the  documents  showing  these 
facts,  states  them  upon  the  best  authority  he  possesses.  During  the  discussions  upon  what 
is  called  the  Indian  Appropriation  Bill  for  1852,  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States,  the  following  colloquial  debate  occurred,  and  is  now  cited  as  a  part  of  the 
evidence  on  which  these  facts  are  stated.  It  will  be  found  in  the  Congressional  Globe  of 
1852,  vol.  24,  part  3d,  pages  1804,  1805  : 

"Mr.  GiDDiNGS.  I  rise  for  a  different  purpose  than  that  of  expressing  my  approbation 
of  the  amendment  which  has  just  been  read.  I  ask  tlie  especial  attention  of  gentlemen  to 
fiome  interrogatories  which  I  desire  to  propound  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  information ; 
and  that  the  information  may  go  to  the  country,  I  will  observe,  that  I  desire  to  have  the 
experience  of  the  able  Chairman  of  the  committee  on  Indian  Affairs  (Mr.  Johnson  of  Ar- 
kansas), to  obtain  this  intelligence.  According  to  reliable  information  which  I  received  in 
the  summer  of  1850,  these  Creek  Indians,  to  whom  attention  has  been  turned,  with  force 
and  violence,  seized  from  seventy  to  one  hundred  free  persons  of  color  in  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory, or  at  least  those  claiming  to  be  free,  and  enslaved,  sold  and  transported  them  to  the 
State  of  Louisiana,  where  they  are  now  in  servitude  as  slaves.  I  will  state  that  this  was 
done  in  violation  of  the  treaty  entered  into  in  1845,  and  in  subversion  of  our  solemn  faith, 
entered  into  with  these  negroes  during  the  Seminole  War,  in  1837.  The  official  information 
upon  this  subject  is  in  the  Indian  Department,  where  it  has  been  received ;  and  from  which 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  331 

1 8^n  1  ^^^  Seminole  Agent,  learning  the  outrage,  at  once  re- 
paired to  the  nearest  Judge  in  Arkansas,  and  obtained  a 
writ  of  habeas  corpus.  The  Exiles  were  brought  before  him  ia 
obedience  to  the  command  of  the  writ,  and  a  hearing  was  had.  The 
Agent  showed  the  action  of  General  Jessup ;  the  sanction  of  the 
capitulation  of  March,  1837,  by  the  Executive ;  the  opinion  of  the 
Attorney  General,  and  action  of  the  President,  deciding  the  Exiles 
to  be  free,  and  in  all  respects  entitled  to  their  liberty.  But  the 
Judge  decided  that  the  Creeks  had  obtained  title  by  virtue  of  their 
contract  with  General  Jessup  ;  that  neither  General  Jessup,  nor  the  ' 
President,  had  power  to  emancipate  the  Exiles,  even  in  time  of 
war ;  that  the  Attorney  General  had  misunderstood  the  law  ;  that  ' 
the  title  of  the  Creek  Indians  was  legal  and  perfect ;  and  they, 
having  sold  them  to  the  claimant,   his  title  must   be  good  and 

that  we  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  any  intelligence  by  resolution,  although  a  resolution 
for  that  purpose  has  been  in  my  desk  since  the  first  day  of  the  session.  The  questions  I 
desire  to  propound  to  those  gentlemen  are  —  First,  Is  it  a  fact  that  those  persons  of  color 
were  seized  and  sold  into  slavery  ;  and,  second,  by  what  claim  of  right  or  pretended  title 
did  these  Creek  Indians  enslave  and  sell  those  people  ? 

"  Mr.  JoHSSON.  I  have  no  official  knowledge  in  the  matter  at  all.  Then  as  to  the  knowl- 
edge I  have  obtained  incidentally,  I  do  know  that  there  has  been  a  great  contest  in  rela- 
tion to  a  portion  of  these  Creek  Indian  negroes  ;  I  do  know  that  the  matter  has  been 
looked  into  here  in  the  Executive  Departments ;  I  do  know  that  the  matter  has  never  been 
before  the  Ilouse  at  all,  unless  it  has  straugely  escaped  my  notice ;  I  know  it  has  not 
been  before  my  committee ;  I  know  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  has  de- 
clared his  opinion  as  to  the  title  of  these  negroes :  I  think  there  were  seventy  of  them, 
though  it  miirht  have  been  more  or  less.  So,  then,  I  have  no  official  information  on  the 
subject  to  which  the  gentleman  alludes. 

"  Some  two  or  three  years  ago,  I  knew  of  a  contest  going  on  about  the  title  to  these 
negroes,  and  that  it  was  decided  that  they  belonged  to  those  Indians.  They  had  estab- 
lished themselves  in  a  free  town,  which  they  maintained  with  force  and  arms.  There  were 
heavy  disturbances  existing  thwe  in  the  Indian  nation,  amounting  at  times  almost  to  civil 
war:  I  believe  before  it  was  done  with,  it  was  quite  civil  war.  I  know  they  were  taken; 
but  what  was  done  with  them,  I  do  not  know.  They  were  taken,  and  carried  out  of  the 
nation,  with  the  design  of  holding  them  as  property,  when  they  could  not  hold  them  in 
the  nation  on  account  of  the  disturbance  which  they  created.  I  know  the  decision  of  the 
Attorney  Grcneral  of  the  United  States,  as  to  the  title  to  these  negroes;  and  that  is  the 
whole  statement  in  regard  to  the  matter  as  far  as  I  can  give  it."' 

(1)  The  Author  has  written  many  letters,  and  made  frequent  efforts,  to  obtain  a  copy  of 


THE   EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

No  sooner  was  the  decision  announced,  than  the  manacled  vic- 
tims were  hurried  from  their  friends  and  the  scenes  of  such  trans- 
cendent crimes  and  guilt.  They  were  placed  on  board  a  steamboat, 
and  carried  to  New  Orleans.  There  they  were  sold  to  different 
purchasers,  taken  to  different  estates,  and  mingling  with  the  tide  of 
human  victims  who  are  septennially  murdered  upon  the  cotton  and 
sugar  plantations  of  that  State,  they  now  rest  in  their  quiet  graves, 
or  perhaps  have  shared  the  more  unhappy  fate  of  living  and  suffer- 
ing tortures  incomparably  worse  than  death. 

The  year  1850  was  distinguished  by  a  succession  of  triumphs  on 
the  part  of  the  slave  power.  While  the  President  and  his  Cabi- 
net, and  members  of  the  Senate  and  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, were  seeking  the  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law ;  while 
slaveholders  and  their  northern  allies  appeared  to  be  aroused  in 
favor  of  oppression  within  the  States  of  our  Union,  their  savfige 
coadjutors  of  the  Indian  territory  were  equally  active. 

There  yet  remained  some  hundreds  of  Exiles  in  that  far-distant 
territory  unsubdued,  and  enjoying  liberty.  They  had  witnessed  the 
duplicity,  the  treachery  of  our  Government  often  repeated,  toward 
themselves  and  their  friends  —  they  had,  most  of  them,  been  born 
in  freedom  —  they  had  grown  to  manhood,  had  become  aged  amidst 
persecutions,  dangers  and  death  —  they  had  experienced  the  con- 
stant and  repeated  violations  of  our  national  faith :  its  perfidy  was 
no  longer  disguised  ;  if  they  remained,  death  or  slavery  would  con- 
stitute their  only  alternative.  One,  and  only  one,  mode  of  avoid- 
ing such  a  fate  remained  —  that  was,  to  leave  the  territory,  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  and  flee  beyond  its  power  and 
influence. 

Mexico  was  free  !  No  slave  clanked  his  chains  under  its  gov- 
ernment.    Could  they  reach  the  Rio  Grande  ?     Could  they  place 

the  record  of  this  writ,  if  any  had  been  kept,  and  the  proceedings,  together  with  the  opin- 
ion of  the  Judge  thereon,  but  has  not  succeeded  The  statement,  therefore,  rests  on  the 
verbal  reports,  current  at  the  time  in  the  Indian  Country,  and  communicated  to  the  Au- 
thor by  individuals  who  happened  to  be  there  at  the  time. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA.  333 

themselves  safely  on  Mexican  soil,  they  miglit  hope  yet  to  be  free. 
A  Council  was  held.  Some  were  connected  with  Seminoles  of 
influence.  Those  who  were  intimately  connected  with  Indian  fami- 
lies of  influence,  and  most  of  the  half-breeds,  feeling  they  could 
safely  remain  in  the  Indian  territory,  preferred  to  stay  with  their 
friends  and  companions.  Of  the  precise  number  who  thus  continued 
in  the  Indian  Country,  we  have  no  certain  information  ;  ^  but  soma 
three  hundred  are  supposed  to  have  determined  on  going  to  Mexico, 
and  perhaps  from  one  to  two  hundred  concluded  to  remain  with 
their  connexions  in  the  Indian  Country. 

Abraham  had  reached  a  mature  age ;  had  great  experience, 
and  retained  influence  with  his  people.  Louis  Pacheco,  of  whom 
we  spoke  in  a  former  chapter,  with  his  learning,  his  shrewdness  and 
tact,  was  still  with  them,  and  so  were  many  able  and  experienced 
warriors.  Wild  Cat,  the  most  active  and  energetic  chief  of  the 
Seminole  Tribe,  declared  his  unalterable  purpose  to  accompany  the 
Exiles;  to  assist  them  in  their  journey,  and  defend  them,  if  assailed. 
Other  Seminoles  volunteered  to  go  with  them.  Their  arrangements 
•were  speedily  made.  Such  property  as  they  had  was  collected  to- 
gether, and  packed  for  transportation.  They  owned  a  few  Western 
ponies.  Their  blankets,  which  constituted  their  beds,  and  some 
few  cooking  utensils  and  agricultural  implements,  were  placed  upon 
their  ponies,  or  carried  by  the  females  and  children  ;  while  the  war- 
riors, carrying  only  their  weapons  and  ammunition,  marched,  unen- 
cumbered even  by  any  unnecessary  article  of  clothing,  prepared  for 
battle  at  every  step  of  their  journey. 

After  the  sun  had  gone  down  (Sept.  10),  their  spies  and  patrols, 
who  had  been  sent  out  for  that  purpose,  returned,  and  reported  that 
all  was  quiet ;  that  no  slave-hunters  were  to  be  seen.  As  the  dark- 
ness of  night  was  closing  around  them,  they  commenced  their  jour- 
ney westwardly.  Amid  the  gloom  of  the  evening,  silent  and  sad 
they  took  leave  of  their  western  homes,  and  fled  from  the  jurisdic- 

(1)  The  Author  has  been  unable  to  obtain  official  data  of  the  number  of  Exiles  who  re- 
mained in  the  Indian  Country. 


334  THE    EXILES   OF   FLORIDA. 

tion  of  a  people  who  had  centuries  previously  kidnapped  their 
ancestors  in  their  native  homes,  brought  them  to  this  country,  en- 
slaved them,  and  during  many  generations  had  persecuted  them. 
Many  of  their  friends  and  relatives  had  been  murdered  for  their 
love  of  liberty  by  our  Government ;  others  had  been  doomed  to 
suffer  and  languish  in  slavery — a  fate  far  more  dreaded  than  death. 
At  the  period  of  this  exodus,  their  number  was  probably  less  than 
at  the  close  of  the  Revolution. 

When  the  slaveholding  Creeks  learned  that  the  Exiles  had  left, 
they  collected  together  and  sent  a  war  party  in  pursuit,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  capturing  as  many  as  they  could,  in  order  to  sell  them  to 
the  slave-dealers  from  Louisiana  and  Arkansas,  who  were  then 
present  among  the  Creeks,  encouraging  them  to  make  another 
piratical  descent  upon  the  Exiles  for  the  capture  of  slaves. 

This  war  party  came  up  with  the  emigrants  on  the  third  day  aftor 
leaving  their  homes  But  Wild  Cat  and  Abraham,  and  their  ex- 
perienced warriors,  were  not  to  be  surprised.  They  were  prepared 
and  ready  for  the  conflict.  With  them  it  was  death  or  victory. 
They  boldly  faced  their  foes.  Their  wives  and  children  were  look- 
ing on  with  emotions  not  to  be  described.  With  the  coolness  of 
desperation,  they  firmly  resolved  on  dying,  or  on  driving  back  the 
slave-catching  Creeks  from  the  field  of  conflict.  Their  nerves  were 
steady,  and  their  aim  fatal.  Their  enemies  soon  learned  the  danger 
and  folly  of  attempting  to  capture  armed  men  who  were  fighting  for 
freedom.  They  fled,  leaving  their  dead  upon  the  field  ;  which  is 
always  regarded  by  savages  as  dishonorable  defeat.^ 

The  Exiles  resumed  their  journey,  still  maintaining  their  warlike 
arrangement.  Directing  their  course  south-westerly,  they  crossed  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  continuing  nearly  in  the  same  direction,  they  pro- 
ceeded into  Mexico,  until  they  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  ancient  but 


(1)  The  Author  has  been  compelled  to  rely  on  verbal  reports  received  from  individuals 
for  these  facts.  He  also  understood  Mr  Johnston,  the  Representative  from  Arkansas,  in 
the  debate  referred  to  in  a  former  note,  to  say  distinctly,  that  the  Creeks  pursued  the  Ex- 
iles, and  that  a  battle  was  fought^  but  he  was  unable  to  state  particulara. 


THE   EXILES   OF   FLORIDA.  335 

now  deserted  town  of  Santa  Rosa.^  In  that  beautiful  climate,  they 
found  a  rich,  productive  soil.  Here  they  halted,  examined  the  country, 
and  finally  determined  to  locate  their  new  homes  in  this  most  romantic 
portion  of  Mexico.  Here  they  erected  their  cabins,  planted  their 
gardens,  commenced  plantations,  and  resumed  their  former  habits 
of  agricultural  life.  There  they  yet  remain.  Forcibly  torn  from 
their  native  land,  oppressed,  wronged,  and  degraded,  they  became 
voluntary  Exiles  from  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  More  recently 
exiled  from  Florida  and  from  the  territory  of  the  United  States — 
they  are  yet  free  !  After  the  struggles  and  persecutions  of  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years,  they  repose  in  comparative  quiet  under  a  gov- 
ernment which  repudiates  slavery.  To  the  pen  of  some  future 
historian  we  consign  their  subsequent  history. 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  reader,  we  would  call  his  attention  to 
a  review  of  the  fate  which  attended  different  portions  of  the  Exiles, 
and  to  a  few  further  incidents,  for  some  of  which  we  have  only 
newspaper  authority  ;  but  from  all  the  circumstances  we  have  no 
doubt  they  actually  transpired. 

Of  the  Exiles  and  their  descendants,  twelve  were  delivered  up 
at  the  treaty  of  Colerain  in  1796,  and  consigned  to  slavery;  two 
hundred  and  seventy  were  massacred  at  Blount's  Fort  in  1816; 
thirty  were  taken  prisoners  —  these  all  died  of  wounds  or  were  en- 
slaved. At  the  different  battles  in  the  first  Seminole  War  in  1818, 
it  is  believed  that  at  least  four  hundred  were  slain,  including  those 
who  fell  at  Blount's  Fort. 

In  the  Second  Seminole  War,  probably  seventy-five  were  slain 
in  battle,  and  five  hundred  were  enslaved ;  and  at  least  seventy-five 
were  seized  by  the  Creek  Indians,  in  1850,  and  enslaved.  Pro- 
bably a  hundred  and  fifty  connected  with  the  Seminoles  now  reside 
in  the  Western  Country,  and  will  soon  become  amalgamated  with 
the  Indians ;  while  three  hundred  have  found  their  way  to  Mexico, 

(1)  Vide  Official  Report  of  Major  Emory,  in  regard  to  the  boundary  line  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico.  He  states  the  location  of  Wild  Cat  and  the  Seminole  Indians, 
but  omits  all  reference  to  the  Exiles. 


THE    EXILES   OF    FLORIDA. 

and  are  free.^  Making,  in  all,  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  souls ; 
being  some  hundreds  less  than  was  reported  by  the  officers  of  Gov- 
ernment, in  1836.  This  discrepancy  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact, 
that  the  Exiles  captured  by  individual  enterprise,  and  by  the  Geor- 
gia and  Florida  militia,  were  never  officially  reported  to  the  War 
Department,  and  we  have  no  reliable  data  on  which  we  can  fix  an 
estimate  of  the  number  thus  piratically  enslaved.  There  are  also  a 
few  yet  in  Florida,  not  included  in  the  above  estimate. 

As  to  their  present  situation,  we  can  give  the  reader  but  little 
further  information.  In  the  summer  of  1852,  Wild  Cat 
suddenly  appeared  among  his  friends,  the  Seminoles,  who 
yet  remained  in  the  Indian  Country.  His  appearance  excited  sur- 
prise among  the  Creeks.  They  at  that  time  maintained  a  guard, 
composed  of  mounted  men  :  these  were  at  once  put  in  motion  for 
the  purpose  of  arresting  tliis  extraordinary  chieftain.  But  while 
they  were  engaged  in  looking  for  him,  he  and  a  company  of  Semi- 
noles, attended  by  a  number  of  Exiles  and  black  persons,  previ- 
ously held  in  bondage  by  the  Creeks,  were  rapidly  wending  their 
way  towards  their  new  settlement. ^ 

This  visit  of  Wild  Cat  to  the  Western  Country  occasioned  much 
excitement  in  that  region,  as  well  as  astonishment  at  Washington, 
and  constituted  the  occasion  of  a  protracted  correspondence  between 
the  War  Department  and  our  Military  Officers  and  Indian  Agents 
of  that  country.  Wild  Cat  was  denounced  as  a  "  pirate" — "  rob- 
her^^ — "  outlaw;"  and  nearly  all  the  opprobrious  epithets  known 
to  our  language  were  heaped  upon  him,  for  thus  aiding  his  fellow 
men  to  regain  those  rights  to  life  and  liberty  with  which  the  God 
of  Nature  had  originally  endowed  them. 

During  the  year  1852,  while  our  commissioners,  appointed  to 
establish  the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  were 
engaged  in  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties,  a  small  party  of 

(1)  This  number  has  been  increased  by  fresh  arrivals  from  the  Indian  Country,  since 
1850. 

(2)  Vide  Manuscript  Letters  now  on  file  in  the  Indian  Bureau  at  Washin^on. 


THE   EXILES  OF    FLORIDA.  337 

armed  men  was  in  attendance  for  tlieir  protection.  Some  eight  of 
these  were  said  to  have  been  engaged  in  patroling  the  country, 
when  they  fell  in  with  Wild  Cat  and  a  portion  of  this  band  of 
Exiles,  who  were  at  all  times  prepared  for  friends  or  foes.  The 
whites  were  made  prisoners  without  bloodshed,  and  taken  to  their 
village.  A  council  was  called.  Abraham  was  yet  living,  and  the 
white  men  declared  that  he  was  regarded  as  a  ruling  prince  by  his 
people.  They  were  evidently  suspicious  of-  the  intentions  of  our 
men ;  but  upon  inquiry  and  consideration,  they  became  satisfied 
that  no  hostile  intentions  had  brought  our  friends  to  that  country ; 
they  were  accordingly  treated  with  becoming  hospitality,  and  dis- 
missed. These  brief  statements  appeared  in  some  of  the  newspa- 
pers of  that  day,  which  constitutes  our  only  authority  for  stating 
them. 

Complaints  were  subsequently  made  through  the  Texan  news- 
papers, that  slaves  escaped  from  that  region  of  country 
and  found  an  asylum  in  Mexico,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Rio  Grande ;  and  intimations  were  thrown  out  that  a  party  of  volun- 
teers, without  authority  from  the  United  States,  were  about  to  visit 
the  settlement,  which  thus  encouraged  slaves  to  seek  their  freedom. 
The  suggestion  was  so  much  in  character  with  the  slaveholders  of 
Texas,  that  it  excited  attention  among  those  who  were  aware  of  the 
settlement  of  Exiles  in  the  region  indicated.  It  was  believed  that 
those  men  who  were  about  to  visit  Wild  Cat  and  Abraham  and 
Louis  and  their  companions,  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  and  ensla- 
ving men,  would  find  an  entertainment  for  which  they  were  not 
prepared. 

Some  few  months  subsequently,  a  brief  reference  was  made  in 
the  newspapers  of  Texas  to  this  expedition,  giving  their  readers 
to  understand  that  it  had  failed  of  accomplishing  the  object  intend- 
ed, and  had  returned  with  its  numbers  somewhat  diminished  by 
their  conflict  with  the  blacks. 

As  was  naturally  expected,  after  the  lapse  of  some  six  months, 
great  complaint  was  heard  through  the  public  press  of  Indian  depre- 


338 


THE    EXILES    OF    FLORIDA. 


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dations  upon  the  fi-ontier  of  Texas.  Plantations  were  said  to  be 
destroyed  ;  buildings  burned ;  people  murdered,  and  slaves  carried 
away.  This  foray  was  said  to  have  been  made  by  Camanche 
Indians,  led  on  by  Wild  Cat.  He  appears  yet  ready  to  make  war 
upon  all  w|jo  fight  for  slavery ;  and  many  of  the  scenes  which  were 
enacted  in  Florida,  will  most  likely  be  again  presented  on  our  south- 
vfrestern  frontier,  where  the  same  causes  exist  which  formerly  existed 
Florida,  and  the  same  effects  will  be  likely  to  follow. 


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